HP: Marauders Era AU
by Ghost Mommy Lady
Summary: AU fan fic based loosely on events given throughout all the HP books.
1. Chapter 1

_This is an AU story, set in the Marauders era. There are OCs and I do not necessarily follow the current canon storyline. Constructive criticism is welcome, but please do not flame me just because I don't follow what you think a relationship should be. This is my take on Rowling's world, and therefore it is my concept of her idea._

_As always, all characters and settings related to the already published Harry Potter universe belong to J.K. Rowling. Celeste, Catherine, and Raven belong to me._

_(Oh, and sorry for the crappy French. I use an online translator that really isn't all that great.)_

"You're out of your bloody mind, Lily," James said, half laughing. "You'll never get Celeste to go to the Yule Ball."

"I will if you can convince Remus he needs to ask her," Lily said tartly. "You know Celeste will do just about anything for him."

"Yes," Sirius said. "That's the problem."

"Siri, will you just trust me on this?" Lily asked exasperatedly. "You know very well I wouldn't do anything to hurt either of them."

James sighed. "I'll do my best," he promised.

"Thanks," Lily said. She headed off to finish her Potions essay.

"You're completely nutters if you think you can convince our anti-social bookworm to ask a girl out," Sirius said dubiously as he moved over next to his friend. "Let alone get him to take her to the Yule Ball. You know he hates things like this almost as much as she does."

"I'll manage," James said. "I've already got an idea."

"Oh?" Sirius asked, filling his one word with all of his skepticism.

"Yeah," James said. "Just watch, Padfoot." Sirius snorted and sat back in his chair. James walked over and sat down beside Remus. The young werewolf was reading one of the books needed for their next Charms lesson. "Hey, Moony."

"Hi James," Remus said, looking up from the book. His mouse brown hair fell into his eyes and he pushed it back with one hand. "Something wrong?"

"Well, I just had a lovely chat with Lily," James began.

"Not another lover's spat, I hope," Remus said with some amusement. James and Lily had the most on-again-off-again relationship of any couple at Hogwarts.

"No, no, we're still getting along," James assured him. "Actually, we were talking about someone else." He allowed a bit of hesitation to creep into his voice. "I'm not sure I should be bothering you, but it's about Celeste."

Remus' gaze sharpened and his soft brown eyes hardened and began to flicker gold. "What about Celeste?" he asked.

"You know how cruel the others in her year can be," James said, dropping his voice to just above a whisper. "Apparently they're making her life miserable about the Yule Ball."

The eyes turned even brighter gold. "What kind of trouble?" Remus asked, a low growl coming out in his voice.

"Oh, the usual snarky comments," James said. "Making nasty remarks about the fact that Celeste doesn't seem to have any friends, though what they call us is beyond me. I heard from Lily that it's gone a bit farther than that now, though Celeste hasn't said anything to us about it. You know Celeste's favorite dress?"

"That pale lavender one she wears on the weekends?" Remus asked. James nodded. "Well, what about it?"

"Lily told me she found Celeste in tears in the girls' bathroom earlier today," James said. "Her roommates took her dress and wrote something really nasty on it. Lily didn't tell me what it was, but Celeste can't get it off her dress. Lily and Celeste tried every cleaning charm and potion they could come up with, but nothing worked. So that dress is completely ruined, and Celeste is on the verge of going completely mental."

"What does Lily want me to do about it?" Remus asked.

"She doesn't know," James told him. "And frankly, Moony, neither do I. Lily made the suggestion that if Celeste had an obvious boyfriend, the nasty stuff might stop."

Remus glared at him. "You are a ruddy bastard, Potter," he said. "You do know that, right?"

"What?" James asked innocently.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Remus said. "You're baiting me into asking Celeste to the Yule Ball."

"I am not," James protested. "I'm just trying to let you know what's going on with Celeste. You're her closest friend, other than Lily."

"All right, Prongs," Remus said. "Since you're claiming _you're_ not the one trying to scam me, you can go tell that manipulative little red headed scut you're dating that I will ask Celeste to the Yule Ball _in my own time_." He returned to his book. James and Sirius sauntered off.

"That was bloody brilliant," Sirius whispered with a grin.

"I know Remus," James said. "He's very protective of Celeste, and he hates it when she gets bullied. Also, this close to the full moon, when his control over his temper is a bit light, he's much easier to convince of things."

"He was right, you know," Sirius said. "You _are_ a bastard."

"Mr. Prongs cordially thanks Mr. Padfoot for his rather astute commentary," James said with a little bow.

"Mr. Padfoot cheerfully tells Mr. Prongs to stuff his gratitude up his ass," Sirius replied. Both boys laughed as they dropped into chairs by Lily.

"What is it now?" she asked irritably. "I'd like to get this essay for Professor Slughorn done _before_ it's due."

"He's going to ask her," James said. "I, uh, irritated him enough to get him to agree to do it."

"Oh dear," Lily said. "What did you tell him?"

"The truth," James said. "I told him everything you told me, about what Celeste has been going through."

"Ruddy little bitches are still giving her hell," Lily said, surprising the guys with her vehemence. "They tried to steal her Potions essay earlier. I caught them before they could get out of the portrait hole, though. They were trying to get her in trouble. Not that Professor Slughorn would really give her hell about it. He adores her almost as much as he adores me."

"What is their problem?" Sirius growled.

"They're jealous," Lily said simply. She sighed at the boys' clueless expressions. "Celeste is beautiful, talented, and highly intelligent. She's a bit shy, but her best friends happen to be considered some of the coolest people at Hogwarts. All of her professors adore her, and she's doing very well in her classes for the most part. In their eyes, she's completely pathetic because she doesn't take advantage of any of this to get her own way. She's not completely innocent, James, but she's damn close."

"Here she comes," Sirius whispered as Celeste came through the portrait hole. She was crying hysterically, her hair loose from its usual plait. Another fourth year girl, one of Celeste's tormentors, helpfully stuck her foot out. Celeste crashed to the ground, slamming her arm into a table on the way down.

"Detention, Miss Parkinson," Remus snapped, getting to his feet. "For your assault on a fellow student." James, Lily, Sirius, and Peter all hurried over to Celeste's side.

"Celeste, what's wrong?" Lily asked concernedly. She knew the timid young lady had been in the library. Celeste couldn't speak, she was sobbing so hard.

"Peter, would you please go get Professor McGonagall?" Remus asked, in his role as a prefect.

"Right," Peter said. He sprinted out of the room, heading for Professor McGonagall's office. A few minutes later, the rather severe head of Gryffindor House entered the room.

"What is going on here?" McGonagall demanded.

"Oh, Celeste tripped over her own hem and suddenly I'm in trouble," Terrilee Parkinson whined.

"Terrilee tripped Celeste when she came through the portrait hole," Remus said, trying to act as if the sight of one of his dearest friends lying on the ground in hysterics wasn't making him angry enough for his wolfish nature to come to the surface. "However, Celeste was already in distress when she came in."

"It's probably those utterly wretched classmates of hers," Lily said savagely. "You should see what they did to her favorite dress, Professor."

"Miss Winters, are you all right?" Professor McGonagall asked concernedly. "Miss Parkinson, you will report to my office tomorrow morning to get your detention."

"Yes, Professor," Terrilee said sulkily. She started up towards her dormitory.

"Professor, I don't think Terrilee should go up to the room until we sort things out," Lily said quickly. "Especially considering she and the others can't be trusted to leave Celeste's stuff alone."

"Miss Evans, I realize you're concerned for your friend, but without proof, I can't do much," Professor McGonagall said.

"Accio," Lily called, waving her wand. A moment later, the once-pristine lavender silk dress came flying out of the fourth year girls' dormitory. Lily shook it out, and everyone saw the damage done. "We tried all day to get the ink off the dress. We've tried laundering it, cleaning charms, cleaning potions, reversal charms, and even a bleaching spell. Nothing worked. This dress is completely ruined, and Terrilee, Monica, Esther, and Regina all admitted to having done it."

Terrilee shrugged. "It was just a stupid prank," she protested. "It's not like it's her only dress, after all."

"You knew it was her favorite dress when you ruined it," Lily snapped. "You picked this one deliberately to cause the most damage."

"Miss Evans, that is enough," Professor McGonagall said sharply. She shook her head. "Such behavior from Gryffindors. I'd expect this from a group of Slytherins, but not young ladies from my own House. Miss Parkinson, you and your co-conspirators will be serving detention with me for the next week."

"Yes professor," Terrilee said sulkily.

"Also, Miss Parkinson, you and your friends are banned from the Yule Ball," Professor McGonagall continued. She turned to Lily. "Miss Evans, please take Miss Winters to the hospital wing. I don't like the look of her arm, and perhaps Madame Pomfrey can give her a calming potion so we can find out what's going on."

"Professor," Remus began hesitantly. "Given their history of cruelty towards Celeste, I don't think we should leave her things in the fourth year dormitory. The other girls could destroy her stuff in retribution."

"I agree," Professor McGonagall said. She turned to another fifth year. "Miss Bell, do you mind if I move Miss Winters into your dormitory?"

"Not a problem, professor," Nora Bell said. "I know Lily won't mind, and Saidie and Coral and I have been trying to keep an eye on Celeste too. She's a really sweet girl, and we all hate what the other fourth years have been doing to her. But since we're not in the same dormitory or classes, we can't do a whole lot."

"Good." Professor McGonagall waved her wand. There was a faint thud from the fifth years' dormitory. "All of her things have now been transferred into your dormitory, along with another bed."

"I'll let the others know when they come back," Nora promised.

"Good," Professor McGonagall said. "Lupin, I'll leave the rest of this lot to you. If you see the girls before Miss Parkinson does, make sure you tell them to report to me after breakfast tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Professor," Remus said. Professor McGonagall left, and Terrilee slunk up to her dormitory room.

Lily half-carried the hysterical Celeste up to the hospital wing. "Madame Pomfrey?" Lily called.

The woman who took care of all of Hogwarts' injured students came bustling out of her office. "What is it, Miss Evans? Good heavens!" She immediately took charge of the situation. She helped Celeste settle onto one of the beds in the dormitory. She handed Celeste a clean handkerchief to wipe her eyes. She inspected the injured arm before bringing out a pot of salve and some bandages. She slathered the salve onto the injury. "Poor dear," she said sympathetically, wrapping Celeste's arm with a clean linen bandage. "What happened?"

"Terrilee s'est déclenché m'et j'ai frappé mon bras sur une table. Les autres ont volé mon essai et encre alors versée partout un livre que je lisais. Madame Pince m'a interdit de la bibliothèque pour quelque chose que je n'ai pas égalisée fais! Je n'obtiendrai maintenant jamais mon essai pour l'histoire de la magie fini," Celeste wailed, reverting to her native French to tell the story. (Terrilee tripped me and I hit my arm on a table. The others stole my essay and then poured ink all over a book I was reading. Madame Pince has banned me from the library for something I didn't even do! Now I'll never get my essay for History of Magic finished.)

"Oh dear," Madame Pomfrey said. She spoke French very fluently, having spent some time abroad when she was younger.

Lily also spoke French, partially due to learning it in school before coming to Hogwarts, and partially because Celeste had helped her remember all that she'd forgotten as well as teaching her more. She frowned, as Celeste often spoke too fast for her to understand when she was upset. "Did she just say that someone ruined an essay?" she asked Mme. Pomfrey. "And that someone got her kicked out of the library?"

"Yes," Mme. Pomfrey said. She handed Celeste a small cup. "Ici, enfant. Buvez ceci. Il vous aidera à calmer en bas d'assez pour nous dire l'histoire entière." (Here, child. Drink this. It'll help you calm down enough to tell us the whole story.)

Celeste drank the calming potion. After a few minutes, she was able to think and speak clearly. Professor McGonagall walked in at that point. "How is she, Poppy?" she asked Mme. Pomfrey.

"She's got a nasty bruise," Mme. Pomfrey said. "All the way to the bone. She's lucky she didn't break it. I've put a healing salve on it and wrapped it up. She should be fine in a day or two."

"Miss Winters, can you tell me what happened?" Professor McGonagall asked gently. Lily sat down in a chair next to the bed and took Celeste's hand.

Celeste took a deep breath. "I was in the library," she said, reverting to English. "I was doing my essay for Professor Binns. I got up to return one book and get another. I did not know Monica and the others were there. It took me a few minutes to find the book I needed. When I got back, Mme. Pince was standing by the table I was working at. She was very angry. An entire bottle of ink had been dumped over a library book. She started yelling at me, telling me I was a stupid, careless, pathetic child. I heard Monica and the others snickering. When I tried to tell her I hadn't done it, she got really upset. She told me to get out of the library and to never come back. She wouldn't even let me take my schoolbooks and my papers with me. She said – she said that if I was too stupid to take care of a library book, there was no way I could take care of my schoolbooks." She looked ready to dissolve into tears again.

"I will speak with Mme. Pince," Professor McGonagall assured her. "You shouldn't be penalized for what the others did to you."

"Thank you, professor," Celeste said, wiping her face with the handkerchief Madame Pomfrey had given her.

"Also, I've taken the liberty of having you moved into the dormitory with the fifth year girls," Professor McGonagall continued. "Miss Evans, do you think you and your roommates can take care of Miss Winters?"

"Of course," Lily said. "I know all of us have been really upset by what's been going on, but not being in the same room we couldn't do much."

"Good," Professor McGonagall said. "Miss Winters, I suggest, when Mme. Pomfrey releases you that you go straight up to your new room and get some sleep. I'll discuss things with Mme. Pince, and notify your other teachers that you're not to be held responsible for the work you weren't able to finish tonight."

"Thank you, Professor," Celeste said again. Professor McGonagall patted her shoulder before hurrying out of the room. Mme. Pomfrey released Celeste a few minutes later, handing her a small draught of a sleeping potion.

"Make sure she takes that before she goes to bed," Mme. Pomfrey told Lily. "It'll help her sleep without nightmares tonight." Lily nodded, and walked Celeste back to Gryffindor Tower. She waited until Celeste fell asleep before she rejoined the others.

"How is she?" Remus asked anxiously. The others all shared his anxiety, their concern plain on their faces.

"She'll be all right," Lily said. "It's a nasty bone bruise. Mme. Pomfrey put on the Bruise-B-Gone salve and wrapped it."

"What got her so upset to begin with?" Peter asked. Lily told them what Celeste had revealed. "That's just cruel."

"Yeah," James said. "I mean, we've pulled stunts like this before too. But nothing that could get a student banned from the library."

"No, you just jinxed someone's head to make it nearly three times bigger than it normally is," Lily said acidly.

"Hey," James protested. "We've been good lately."

"Yeah, lately," Lily said. She shook her head. "That doesn't matter right now. What matters is Celeste is going to be in a lot of trouble when she gets to her classes tomorrow. I mean, the girls aren't going to let this rest."

"Well, what can we do?" Sirius asked. "We're not in her year, after all."

"I don't know," Lily said. A sudden thought crossed her mind. "I wonder though."

"What?" James asked.

"This is all going to depend on whether or not Celeste is willing to sit her O.W.L.s this year," Lily said slowly. "Also, it will depend on whether or not I can talk Professor McGonagall around into getting her to discuss this with the other professors."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

"Celeste's really a brilliant girl," Lily said. "I'm wondering if maybe I can get her pushed up a year for next term. If I can, then maybe we can get her in the same classes with us."

"That's a great idea, Lily," Remus said. "But will McGonagall and the others go for it?"

"I haven't the faintest idea," Lily admitted. "I'll have word with her after Transfiguration tomorrow."

"It's getting late," Sirius said with a yawn. "Let's get to bed."

The next day, Celeste was terrorized all through her classes by her fellow fourth years and their very angry boyfriends. By the time her day was half over, she decided to retreat to the hospital wing. Pleading a sick headache to Professor Slughorn, Celeste ran from the dungeon.

Mme. Pomfrey wasn't too surprised to see her when she came in. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up during or after your classes, Celeste," she said. "Here. Why don't you have a bit of a rest?" She ushered Celeste into one of the beds. "You look ready to collapse."

"They are horrible," Celeste said in an anguished voice. "I am so tired of them."

"Here," Mme. Pomfrey said, handing her a small dose of the same sleeping potion from the night before. "This will help you rest for a couple hours while I have a word with the headmaster about this."

"Thank you, Mme. Pomfrey," Celeste murmured. She drank the sleeping draught and was soon dozing. Mme. Pomfrey tucked her in and then headed up to the headmaster's office. She took care to lock the door into the hospital wing, just in case.

Mme. Pomfrey wasn't the only one discussing Celeste with Professor Dumbledore. Lily, in the company of Professors Slughorn and McGonagall, were already in his office. Mme. Pomfrey joined them, and added her report to what Dumbledore already knew. "Miss Evans," Dumbledore said finally, after everyone else had wound down. "You've been very quiet through all of this. Do you have any suggestions?"

"I do," Lily began hesitantly. "But I'm not so sure now that Celeste could manage. I mean, she really doesn't handle stressful situations well."

"Oh?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, the boys and I were discussing this last night," Lily said. "And I came up with the idea to see if I could get permission for Celeste to sit her O.W.L.s this year. She's good enough, she could probably pass them. And then that would put her on an equal footing with the rest of us."

"But she won't be of age when she graduates if we allow that, Albus," Professor McGonagall said.

"It still might be the best thing for her," Mme. Pomfrey said. "Otherwise the poor thing will be in my hospital wing every day because of nerves."

"I think Miss Evans has a point, Minerva," Slughorn said. "And I believe that not only will Miss Winters pass her Potions O.W.L., but I fully expect she'll be able to enter my N.E.W.T. class next year."

"Well, I must admit she is very good in Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall admitted. "And I know Fillius was saying that she's a dab hand at Charms."

"I'll have a word with Professor Vector and Professor Sprout," Dumbledore said. "I'll also send an owl to the Ministry to see if we can't get a waiver for the underage use of magic should she be allowed to take her O.W.L.s this year." He turned his sparkling blue eyes onto Lily. "Miss Evans, please don't mention this to Miss Winters just yet. I want to be sure the rest of her professors are agreeable to this first."

"Yes sir," Lily said. She happily escaped his office to catch up with the others. She reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Rhododendron."

"Is she going to be all right?" the Fat Lady asked anxiously, assuming that Lily would know why Celeste hadn't yet returned.

"She'll be fine," Lily assured her. The portrait hole swung open and Lily went into the common room.

There was a great deal of angry muttering as she walked in. "What's going on?" she asked Nora.

"Some of the fourth and fifth year boys jumped Remus today," Nora whispered. "James and Sirius are livid, Peter's anxious, and Remus looks like a ruddy raccoon. He also won't go to the hospital wing. He says it's nothing and that he's fine."

"Where is he?" Lily asked. Nora pointed, and Lily headed over to the small cluster of her friends.

"Lily! Where'd you run off to after Transfiguration?" James asked brightly, his dark eyes shifting over towards Remus.

"Professor Dumbledore wanted a word with me about the trouble here in Gryffindor Tower last night," Lily said. She came up to where she could actually see the young werewolf. "Oh, Remus. What happened?"

"I had a spot of trouble today," Remus said mildly. "Nothing to worry about." His eyes were slightly unfocused, and he was pale and shaking. "Where's Celeste?"

"Hospital wing," Lily said. "She's on the verge of complete nervous collapse. Mme. Pomfrey is treating her for a headache, but she's really upset." A flash of brilliance gave Lily an idea of how to get Remus to the hospital wing. "You think, after you've cleaned up a bit, that you could go sit with her? I was thinking about it, but I think, since you _are _a prefect, that you should go."

Remus gave her an unsteady look. "Sure. I'll just go change into some clean clothes," he said, gesturing to his blood-spattered robes. He wandered up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

"How bad do the others look?" she asked anxiously.

"He didn't fight back," Sirius growled. "He knew if he did, there was a chance, since the full moon's tomorrow night, that he wouldn't be able to stop."

"Why?" Lily asked.

"It's Terrilee and her crowd again," Peter said. "The boys who jumped Remus were supposed to be their dates for the Yule Ball."

"Did anyone tell Professor McGonagall?" Lily demanded.

"None of us have had a chance yet," James said. "We've been keeping an eye on him." He stood up. "I'll go get her."

"She's still up talking to Professor Dumbledore," Lily said. "The headmaster is really concerned about everything that's going on with Celeste as well."

Remus came back down. "Sirius, you want to come with me?" he asked. He was shaking, and his eyes seemed more vacant than before. "I don't seem to be all that steady."

"Yeah," Sirius said, shooting James and the others a worried look. "Come on, Moony. Let's go visit Celeste." He offered his arm to the smaller boy. Remus leaned heavily on it as they headed out of the portrait.

"I give them a few minutes before Sirius is carrying Remus," Lily said worriedly. "He looks terrible."

"I'm going to McGonagall's office," James said. "I'll wait for her to get back."

"All right," Lily said. James vanished out the portrait hole as well.

Lily's prediction came true. Sirius ended up carrying Remus into the hospital wing. "Madame Pomfrey!" he shouted, almost hysterical with worry.

Mme. Pomfrey came bustling out of her office. "Mr. Black, must you make such a racket?" she asked. Her eyes widened as she saw the battered boy in Sirius' arms. "What happened?"

"He got jumped by a bunch of 4th and 5th year boys," Sirius said, laying Remus down on a bed. "He wouldn't fight back. He said it's a bad time, that things could have gotten out of hand. We think he's been hurt really bad."

"Remus?" Celeste was awake. She dragged herself out of the bed and over to his side. "Siri, what happened?"

"He got beat up by the dates of your former roommates," Sirius growled.

"C'est tout mon défaut. Je ne devrais avoir jamais dit rien au sujet de ce qui continuait," Celeste said in an anguished voice. (This is all my fault. I shouldn't have ever said anything about what was going on.)

"Don't be silly, dear," Mme. Pomfrey said. "Things would be worse if you hadn't spoken up."

"Don't beat yourself up about this, Celeste," Sirius said. "I think that lot was just looking for an excuse to get Remus. After all, he is a prefect. He's made a lot of enemies just because of that."

Remus opened his eyes, his dazed expression seriously worrying all three of them. "Celeste?" he mumbled.

Mme. Pomfrey moved a chair over for her, and Celeste sat down beside him. "Where are you hurt, Remus?" Celeste asked.

"My stomach hurts," he muttered. "Head hurts. Back hurts too."

"Mr. Black, if you'll step aside, I can get to work on him," Mme. Pomfrey said.

Celeste looked up and was about to say something, but all of a sudden her face went blank. "Siri, where's James?"

"He's supposed to be talking to McGonagall," Sirius said. "Why?"

Mme. Pomfrey hurried off to get a potion from a cabinet. "James is in trouble," Celeste said sharply.

"Where is he?" Sirius asked, having seen Celeste's unique gift work before.

"I'm not sure," she said, frowning. "I know he's in trouble, but he's not in a part of the castle I know."

"Siri, Celeste, go help James," Remus pleaded as he tried to sharpen his gaze.

Celeste grabbed her wand with one hand and Sirius with her other. "Come on," she said. The two of them raced out of the hospital wing.

James knew he was in deep trouble. Alone, with his wand now on the opposite side of the corridor, he was dead meat. "You and your little friends should have stayed out of it," Samuel Parkinson said nastily. He was a fifth year Slytherin boy that happened to be Terrilee's older brother. "My sister's really unhappy now because of you."

"She shouldn't have been bullying Celeste," James snapped. "It's her own fault." He ducked as Samuel swung at him only to get hit from the side by Colin Harris, a fifth year from Gryffindor. Normally the Gryffindors would be united against the two Slytherin boys in their midst as Samuel's friend Marcus Fairhaven added a kick to the knee to the fray. But the three boys were all angry with Celeste and the others for getting their dates banned from the Yule Ball.

"You're dead, Potter," Samuel said, drawing back his fist.

"Petrificus Totalus," a feminine voice with a light French accent called. Parkinson fell to the ground as Celeste and Sirius ran into the corridor.

"Expelliarmus," Sirius yelled and Marcus' wand was knocked from his hand. Celeste quickly immobilized the rest of James' attackers.

"Thanks," James gasped, holding one hand to his stomach and one hand to his leg. "That would not have been much fun."

"Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, what is going on here?" Professor McGonagall had finally appeared.

"Please, professor, it is not their fault," Celeste said, leaning up against the wall. "These boys attacked Remus earlier, and now they wished to do to James what they did to Remus."

"What?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking startled.

"Remus got beaten up earlier because you banned this lot's girlfriends from the Yule Ball," Sirius said. "I took him down to the hospital wing. We were talking to him, and we realized James hadn't caught up with us. He was going to check to see if you were in your office, and then come join us. He was taking too long, so we came to see if we could find him."

"I got jumped before I could get out of the corridor," James said, standing up. His glasses were broken and his wand was still down at the other end of the corridor.

Celeste summoned them to her hand. "Reparo," she muttered. The glasses fixed themselves. She handed them back to him.

"Thanks," James said. "Remus is in bad shape, professor. He didn't want to lose his temper, so he let them beat him up."

"What did you use on these boys, Mr. Black?" Professor McGonagall asked suspiciously.

"He simply disarmed them," Celeste said. "I am the one who cast the curse. I used Full Body Bind. I felt it was the best way to immobilize them without hurting them."

"Mr. Parkinson, Mr. Fairhaven, fifty points from Slytherin for each of you for your attacks on my students," Professor McGonagall said. "And fifty points from Gryffindor for you, Mr. Harris, for your part in these attacks." She pursed her lips. "Fifty points to Gryffindor for your quick thinking, Miss Winters, and fifty points to Gryffindor for you, Mr. Black, for your restraint in not using the nastiest hexes possible on them."

"Thanks, professor," Sirius said wryly.

"Mr. Potter, are you going to be all right?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I'm fine, professor," James said. "I'm really worried about Remus though."

"He collapsed on our way to the hospital wing," Sirius added.

"I'll have a word with Mme. Pomfrey then," Professor McGonagall said. She cast the counter jinx on the prone boys. "All of you, my office immediately. Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, please take Miss Winters back to Gryffindor Tower."

"Yes ma'am," James said. He leaned lightly on Sirius as the three students headed back to their common room. Celeste scooped up James' wand as they passed and handed it to him. He tucked it into his pocket.


	2. Chapter 2

Remus didn't reappear in Gryffindor Tower until a week later. Mme. Pomfrey felt it was safer to just keep him away from everyone until after his transformation was over for the month.

Celeste was exceptionally busy. Not only was she being given some intense study sessions, permission having been granted by all of her professors and the Governors of the school for her to

take her O.W.L.s this year, but she was serving out a detention for being discovered outside the dormitory just before sunrise the day after the attacks on James and Remus. She accepted her punishment without question, although she never admitted to what she'd been doing out at that hour.

Celeste was also much happier than she'd been since she started at Hogwarts. She was now rooming with Lily and the other fifth year girls. She had been pulled from all of her usual classes, so she never saw the fourth year girls except in the Common Room. None of her friends would let them get anywhere near her. She was safe, and she blossomed even more under the care of her protectors.

"Remus!" Celeste was smiling as he came back into the common room. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks," Remus said. "Where are James and the others?"

"The library," Celeste said, giggling. "Apparently the other boys did something to irritate Professor Slughorn. He, Sirius, and Peter are now trying to find enough information on Shrinking potions to cover three rolls of parchment. Lily is helping them, since it was partly her fault they got in trouble."

"Oh?" Remus asked, sitting down beside her.

Celeste nodded. "She switched James' crushed scarabs for crushed cockroaches," she explained. "It made the potion boil over. It melted James' cauldron, and did a lot of damage to the table. Peter tried to help and ended up melting _his_ cauldron because he forgot to pull it off the flame. When the boys couldn't tell him what happened, he got very angry and told them that since they could not make the potion correctly, they could write him an essay on the many uses for the potion."

"Poor James," Remus said with a smile.

Celeste's smile faded. "Remus, I need your help," she said softly.

"Oh?" Remus asked.

Celeste nodded. "I'm still having trouble with my English," she said, her voice almost a whisper. "I'm scared I'll have trouble with the practical. I do not understand people that well when I am nervous."

"What can I do to help?" Remus asked.

"I want to make sure I know this information better than anyone," Celeste said. "I have to know it. Even if I have trouble with getting scared, I will not have trouble with doing what I am asked to do."

Remus smiled gently at the earnest look in her face. "All right, sweetheart," he said. "Let's get started then."

Celeste's smile returned. "Thank you, Remus."

"You're welcome," Remus said. He hesitated, and then he asked, "Celeste, have you thought about going to the Yule Ball?"

Celeste looked surprised. "I had not given it any thought," she said. "You know I do not like crowds, but if someone were to ask me, I might think of going." She shrugged. "But I do not know many people who would ask me."

"Would you go to the Yule Ball with me?" Remus asked in a rush.

Celeste blinked, and then her cheeks turned a little pink. "I would love to go with you," she said, sounding a little breathless.

"Ok," Remus said. The stared at each other for a moment before they turned their attention back to the books.

When Lily and the others finally came back to the common room, Celeste had gone upstairs to her room. Remus was sitting and reading over one of her essays, correcting her grammar mistakes. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd fallen asleep in the library," he commented, looking up from the roll of parchment. "Did you get your essays done?"

"Yeah," James said. "But I don't think we'd have made it if Lily wasn't helping us." He looked around the crowded common room. "Where's Celeste?"

"Up in her room," Remus said. "She'll be back down in a few minutes. She managed to knock her ink off onto her robes. She's up changing." He paused. "I did it."

"You did what?" Sirius asked.

"I asked Celeste to go to the Yule Ball with me," Remus said. He ducked his head, blushing slightly. "Now I need a favor from you guys."

"What's that?" Sirius asked curiously.

"I need to get a set of dress robes," Remus muttered. "And since you lot can usually manage to look presentable, I'd like your help."

Sirius grinned. "We'll go shopping on the next Hogsmeade weekend," he said. "There's one more before the Yule Ball."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me," Lily said. "I still have to finish my Christmas shopping. I'm going to go put my books up in the dormitory." She headed off.

"Lily!" Celeste caught her when she walked in. "I am in, I mean, I need your help."

"Oh?" Lily asked.

Celeste sighed. "My best dress is ruined, and I do not have anything to wear to the Yule Ball," she said. "Remus has asked me, and I said yes. Will you go with me on our next Hogsmeade weekend to get a new set of dress robes?"

"Of course I will," Lily said. "The boys are taking Remus to go shopping then as well. Is all of your Christmas shopping done?"

"I still have to find something for Remus," Celeste said. "He is the last one I have on my list. I was able to find things for the others much easier."

"I'll help you with that too, if you'd like," Lily said. "I've got an idea of something Remus might enjoy."

"All right," Celeste said thankfully. "Thank you." She smiled. "Now I must go down and see how badly I have mangled the English in my essay."

"It shouldn't be too bad," Lily said. "You've been getting better with every essay you've written."

"I hope it is all right," Celeste said. "I will especially need good grammar when I try to pass my O.W.L.s."

"You'll be fine, Celeste," Lily assured her. "Remus and I will help you so you're ready for your practicals, and your incredible memory will help you with your essays."

"Queest-ce que j'ai jamais fait pour obtenir à des amis comme vous?" Celeste asked happily, reverting once more to her native French. (What did I ever do to get friends like you?)

"Vous étiez vous-même. C'est ce qui." Lily replied warmly. (You were yourself. That's what.)

"Merci," Celeste said. She ran lightly down the stairs, happier than Lily had ever seen her. Lily dropped her stuff and headed back down to the common room.

Celeste waited nervously for Lily and the others. They'd decided to all go down to breakfast together, and then head off to Hogsmeade as a group. It would be safer, considering that Celeste's former roommates and their boyfriends were still making trouble. Nora and Saidie were waiting with Celeste. They didn't want to see the frail young woman injured any more than Lily did.

"What color of robes are you going to get?" Saidie asked Celeste curiously.

"I was thinking of getting lavender or silver, but Lily thinks I should try for something with more color," Celeste said.

"Well, you are very pale, Celeste," Saidie said. "I mean, you have platinum hair, pale eyes, and your skin is almost white. You really do need a little bit of color to offset that, and to enhance your beautiful eyes."

Celeste blushed a little. "What color would you suggest?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing too bright or intense," Nora said promptly.

"Nothing really dark either," Saidie added. "You like lavender, why don't you try a darker purple."

"Or maybe a rich blue," Nora suggested.

"I was thinking a red or even gold," Lily said, coming to join them.

"Those are too warm, Lily," Nora said. "My mum is a Muggle fashion designer. I've managed to pick up a bit from her. Celeste's coloring is all wrong for warm tones. Try blue and purple, maybe green, and if she wants something like silver, try for a richer and smokier version."

"Ok," Lily said, in surprise.

"All right, oh mistress of color," Sirius said, bowing floridly to Nora. "What about our resident bookworm? We have to get him some dress robes too."

Nora tilted her head to one side as she looked at Remus. "Try earthy tones with him," she said finally. "Warm browns and bronzes, maybe even a dark gold. Those would work best with his hair and eyes."

Remus was blushing furiously. "Thanks Nora," he managed.

"Have fun today!" Nora and Saidie headed out of the room. The others followed a few moments later.

Breakfast was spent checking and double checking pocket money. Remus, as usual, didn't have any and was wondering how he was supposed to pay for new robes. Finally, Sirius threw his hands up into the air. "Remus, James and I will pay for your bloody robes, all right?" he said exasperatedly.

"What's the matter, Lupin? Parents forget to send you your pocket money again?" a voice sneered.

Severus Snape stood just behind the boys, his greasy black hair framing his sallow face. Standing at his side, her black hair falling in a mass of soft curls, was Celeste's twin sister Catherine. "Go get stuffed, Snape," James said curtly.

"Vous savez, Celeste, si vous continuez à traîner avec ces traîtres de sang, les gens allez commencer à parler. Particulièrement si vous êtes vu l'en public avec le Mudblood," Catherine said snidely. (You know, Celeste, if you keep hanging around with these blood traitors, people are going to start talking. Especially if you're seen in public with the Mudblood.)

"Je serais plutôt avec eux que le genre de créatures démoniaques que vous courez autour avec," Celeste said coolly. (I'd rather be with them than the kind of demonic creatures you run around with.)

Lily nearly choked on her eggs as she tried not to laugh. "Votre ami ne peut pas même manger son petit déjeuner sans faire un désordre. Comment pouvez-vous traîner avec elle?" Catherine asked scornfully. (Your friend can't even eat her breakfast without making a mess. How can you hang out with her?)

"En fait, je parle français couramment et vos remarques, aussi bien que votre soeur, sont réellement vraiment hilares," Lily said with a little laugh. (Actually, I speak French fluently and your remarks, as well as your sister's, are actually really hilarious.)

Catherine's face colored. "Let's go," she said to Snape. "I'm hungry." The two Slytherins headed off.

"What did she say?" James asked, leaning over to the girls. "I'm still not too good with French."

"She was making rude comments, as usual," Lily said. "She was calling you lot blood traitors and me a Mudblood. Celeste told her she'd rather run around with us than –." Lily lowered her voice. "-Than the demonic creatures that she runs around with." The group broke out in laughter.

After breakfast, they bundled up in their warm clothing and headed out into the courtyard. The caretaker cleared them and they trundled off down the lane. "I'll take Celeste and we'll go to Lady Satin's. Where are you guys heading?" Lily asked.

"Probably Mme. Malkin's Hogsmeade shop," James said. "They've got good quality dress robes, and they do seem to lean more towards the wizards than the witches."

"Right," Lily said. "How about we meet at the Three Broomsticks in, oh, two hours?"

"It's not going to take that long," Sirius protested.

"You've never gone shopping with girls, I see," Lily said with a wry smile. "I'm pretty sure it'll take us that long to find a set of dress robes for Celeste that we can both agree on. Besides, I need a new set too. I'll look kind of silly in a set of dress robes that's almost 30 cm. too short."

"I'm going to get a new set as well," James said. "Mine are a bit tight across the shoulders. Playing Quidditch does wonders for the body, but it makes keeping me in robes really hard. Or so my mum says."

Everyone laughed. They reached the main square of the village. The girls went left to Lady Satin's Women's Dress Robes for Special Occasions. The boys went to Mme. Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. As they walked into the warm, cinnamon-scented shop, Celeste looked around curiously. "I don't think I've ever been here," she told Lily.

"I'm not surprised," Lily said. "You usually avoid the kinds of events where you'd where things like this."

Celeste lifted one arm on a dark pink set of silk dress robes. "I think, um, no," she said.

Lily laughed. A middle age witch came bustling out. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"We're looking for new dress robes for the Yule Ball," Lily said.

"Well, let's see what we can find," the woman said. She eyed Celeste. "Hm, I think a lovely pale pink will work for you."

"I do not like pink," Celeste said. "I am also looking for darker colors. I'm always wearing pastel colors."

"Oh no, dear," the witch said. "With your coloring, dark colors would be terrible."

"Our friend's mum designs clothes for a living," Lily said. "She says that Celeste should try richer, darker colors."

The witch ignored her and began pulling pastel dress robes from the shelf. She made Celeste try each and every one on. Nothing seemed right, and Lily and Celeste were getting irritated. Finally, Lily pulled a gorgeous set of turquoise velvet dress robes off of a shelf. "My dear, those are far too bright for her," the witch protested.

"Celeste, go try these on," Lily said, ignoring the woman. "Let's see if Nora was right." Celeste took the dress and vanished into the dressing room.

"Oh!" Celeste walked out, her pale silver eyes shining brightly. "I am wanting, I mean, I would like to get these."

"Well, the color does look nice on you," the proprietress said grudgingly. "Let's get them fitted." Using her wand, she tightened each seam so the dress robes fit Celeste perfectly. "There. All done."

"You are going to look fabulous," Lily assured her.

"What about you?" Celeste asked.

"Oh, I've already picked out what I want," Lily said. She held up a set of emerald green silk dress robes. "I'm rather easy to shop for. I always pick my favorite color. Since the color matches my eyes, and most redheads look good in green anyhow, it's not that hard."

"Well, go try them on and we'll get them fitted to you too," the proprietress said. As soon as Lily's robes were fitted, the girls changed back into their regular clothes and paid for their new robes. Lily's was 18 galleons. Celeste paid 24 galleons for hers.

"Well, that was expensive," Lily said, after the girls had left the shop. "We've still got some time left. Want to go look at some jewelry?"

"I have never really gone shopping like this before," Celeste admitted. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, let's go see if we can find something pretty to go with your dress," Lily said. The girls walked into the jewelry shop. They left a short while later with a couple necklaces and two pairs of earrings. "We've got just enough time to get to the Three Broomsticks to meet the boys." The two girls hurried across the street and into the pub. Mme. Rosmerta smiled as they came in.

"Two butter beers, ladies?" she called.

"Yes please, Mme. Rosmerta," Lily replied. "Have you seen James and the others yet?"

"Not yet," Mme. Rosmerta said as she brought two bottles out to the girls. "Are you meeting them here?"

"Yes," Lily said. "We went shopping for new dress robes for the Yule Ball."

Mme. Rosmerta looked at Celeste in surprise. "So, who are you going with, dear?" she asked.

"Remus Lupin," Celeste said quietly as she sipped her butter beer.

"That's wonderful," Mme. Rosmerta said with a broad smile. "Ah, here are the boys. I'll bring over four more bottles." She disappeared behind the bar.

"So, did you find anything?" James asked, dropping into a chair next to Lily.

"We did," Lily said. "The witch in Lady Satin's was a real pain, though. She didn't want to listen to anything we had to say."

"I've heard that about her," Remus said. "The girls sometimes gossip in the library when I'm trying to study," he added at Peter's inquiring look. "They aren't very quiet about it and I often pick up interesting bits of information."

Mme. Rosmerta dropped off four more butter beers before heading off to take care of another batch of Hogwarts students who had just come in. "How was your shopping?" Lily asked.

"Oh, Remus was arguing with us, but we finally found something," Sirius said sourly. He glared at the young werewolf before taking a swig of butter beer.

"Just because I don't consider what you insisted I try on to be dress robes, Sirius, does not mean that I wasn't intending to get something," Remus snapped back.

"That's enough, you two," James told them firmly. "Peter and I have put up with your bitching for the past two hours. Sirius, you're my best mate, but drop it or I'll hex you into next week. Remus, quit letting him bait you."

"Yes, oh mighty one," Sirius said with a florid bow. James mimed hexing him with an imaginary wand.

"You lot are really bad, you know that?" Lily asked exasperatedly. "Can't you let up for a bit?"

"Sorry, Red," Peter said. "But James is right. We've been listening to this bloody tripe for the last two hours."

"Well, I don't want to hear it," Lily said firmly. "If you're going to keep this up, Celeste and I are leaving."

"Catherine and Severus are coming," Celeste said suddenly. "They've got Terrilee's brother and a few other Slytherins with them."

"You sure?" James asked. "Sorry. Stupid question. Should we make a run for it?"

"I'd rather not have my dress robes ripped out of my hands and ruined," Celeste said.

"Ok," James said. "As soon as they get a table, we're out of here."

"Catherine knows I'm in here," Celeste said quietly. She shrank down in her seat a little. Mme. Rosmerta saw this and hurried over.

"Is something wrong, dear?" she asked.

"Her sister and some of the Slytherins are on their way in," Lily said.

"Well, you lot get ready to bolt," Mme. Rosmerta said. "I'll catch them when they come in and get them off to a table."

"Thanks, Mme. Rosmerta," James said gratefully.

"I just don't want you tearing up my pub again, Potter," she said, giving him a dirty look. James had the good grace to blush and look ashamed. Just then, the door opened and the expected Slytherins walked in. Mme. Rosmerta bustled off to get them all seated.

"Ok," Sirius said. He waited for another moment, and then said, "Now." The Gryffindors bolted out of the Three Broomsticks. "So, back up to school?"

"I still have shopping to do," Celeste said. "I have one more gift to get. Lily, you said you'd help me find something."

"Oh," Lily said, her eyes widening in surprise. "I almost forgot. Thanks for reminding me, Celeste. If you lot want to head up, go ahead. We're going to finish our Christmas shopping."

"Actually, I have a couple more gifts to buy myself," Remus said. "Or rather, I need to pick them up." He ducked his head. "That's why I don't have any pocket money right now. I used it all on presents."

"You're not wandering off alone," James said. "Peter, you and Sirius go with Remus. Lily, you mind if I come with you and Celeste? With the Slytherins in town, I don't think the two of you should be off without some help either."

"Not a problem," Lily said. "We already have your gifts, James."

"We'll meet you up in the Common Room," Sirius said. "If that's ok with you, James."

"Yeah. Just don't leave Remus alone," James told him.

"You got it," Sirius said. "Come on, Peter." Remus would have objected, but he knew it was far safer for him to be with his friends. The two groups split up once more. After Lily and Celeste got their presents for Remus, they decided to forego their usual trip to Honeydukes and head back up to the school.


	3. Chapter 3

Lily, Celeste, and the other fifth year girls woke up on Christmas morning with a real sense of anticipation. The Yule Ball was that very evening. "Oi, Happy Christmas everyone!" Coral called as she dove into the pile of presents at the foot of her bed.

Celeste was almost afraid to look at the foot of the bed. She so rarely had much for Christmas that she actually dreaded Christmas morning. To her surprise, there was a mountain of presents wrapped in bright paper waiting for her. She sat up and dove into her presents with the same delight as the rest of the girls.

"Oh, thank you, Lily," Celeste said, holding up a pair of shoes that matched her new dress robes. "I knew that I had forgotten to get something."

"Not a problem, Celeste," Lily said with a smile.

Celeste returned to her presents. She ended up with the shoes from Lily; an owl brooch from Remus; a box of Honeydukes sweets from Peter; a book on the discoveries of various potions from Sirius; a new winter cloak from Abigail, the Squib who was technically taking care of the twins; and a little gold and sapphire bracelet from James. Then she opened her final package. She gasped and pulled out her favorite lavender dress, completely purged of the ink and the hateful comments. A note fell out.

"'Celeste, the other teachers and I felt that you deserved a little bit of a treat. First, here is your dress, fresh and clean. Professors Flitwick and Slughorn managed to figure out what the girls did to it and were able to reverse it. Second, I know that you are aware of the fact that we are going to permit you to sit your O.W.L.s this year. We also have a waiver from the Ministry of Magic which, upon your graduation, will permit you to function in our society without the fear of reprisals from the Ministry when you use magic, as you will only be sixteen. Have a lovely Christmas. Sincerely, Professor McGonagall.'" She hugged the dress to her, her heart soaring.

"Hey, isn't that your dress, Celeste?" Saidie asked.

Celeste nodded. "Professors Flitwick and Slughorn, they found the way to fix my dress to the way it was before the others did ruin it." She shook her head. "Sorry. My English gets bad when I am excited or nervous."

"Don't worry about it, mate," Coral said brightly. "We understood you well enough."

Once the presents were all opened and the treasures therein were stashed, the girls went down for a quick breakfast. Then it was back up to the tower for a bath. After that, it was time to start getting ready.

Everyone agreed Celeste's knee length hair would take the longest to get ready. "I will just wear it in a braid, as I usually do," Celeste protested.

"No you won't," Coral said firmly.

"If you're going to a party, you need to look the part," Nora agreed. "Hey Lily, what do you think?"

"I think simplicity suits her better," Lily said. "But I do agree that a simple braid just isn't right."

"How about the herring bone?" Saidie asked.

"Not with how long her hair is," Lily said. "I'm thinking something a little different."

"What is it you want to do?" Celeste asked. She was getting a little nervous with all the girls standing around her.

Lily pulled out her wand. With a flick of her wrist, she cast a curling charm on Celeste's hair. "First, we're going to put ringlets in the bottom three feet of your hair." She shook her head. "How you can carry that much hair around without getting a headache is beyond me."

"I am used to it," Celeste said.

"Obviously," Lily said with a smile. "This is going to take a few minutes. Celeste, just sit still. I don't want the charm to be disrupted."

"Yes, Lily," Celeste sighed.

Lily helped Nora with her hair before returning to Celeste. "Ok. Now, let's get the rest of this done." She took Celeste's hair and began braiding the part that she didn't have curled. When she got down to the beginning of the curls, she wrapped a ribbon around the braid. She then twisted the braid up onto Celeste's head and, with some help from Coral and Saidie, pinned the braid to the back of Celeste's head.

Lily then separated the curls out a bit to give Celeste a softer look. "There," Lily said finally. "What do you think?"

Celeste looked into the mirror. "C'est magnifique!" she said happily. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Lily said, smiling. "Now, to make sure it stays up all day." She waved her wand again. She charmed Celeste's hair into staying in place. "Now, let's get everyone else's hair done."

"I don't think we should go to lunch," Saidie said suddenly. "I mean, we want to surprise the boys, don't we?"

"Yeah," Nora said. "Hey, Coral. Why don't you run down to the great hall and nick us some food?"

"Sure," Coral said. She headed out of the dormitory. Celeste helped Lily with Saidie's hair. When Coral returned, the girls snacked on the food while doing Lily and Coral's hair.

"Ok, now for the cosmetics," Lily said. "Celeste, you need to wear some."

"Yes, I know," Celeste said calmly. "I am too pale without it." She dug around in her trunk and pulled out her cosmetics bag. "I have some that my Squib guardian got for me." She shook out the products. "See?"

"That's some expensive stuff," Nora said appreciatively. "My mum always wears cosmetics and she buys that every chance she gets."

It didn't take Celeste very long to do her face. She never used very much, but it always made a big difference. "You know, you should wear this stuff more often," Saidie said. "You look so much better with a bit of color in your face."

"I do not like the feeling of this on my face," Celeste told her. "That is why I do not wear it all the time."

"Ah," said Coral.

"Don't forget to charm it in place, Celeste," Lily said. "You don't want it to come off when you put on your dress robes."

"This is true," said Celeste. She pointed her wand at her own face and cast the charm. She felt a slight tingle in her skin as the spell took effect. "There."

Once the girls were set, they relaxed in their room until closer to the time of the ball. Half an hour before the dance, the girls all pulled on their dress robes and headed down to meet their dates in the common room.

Celeste paused just out of sight, wanting to get a look at Remus before she actually walked down. Lily stopped with her. Remus moved into their line of sight. He was dressed in a set of dark gold dress robes. His usually shaggy brown hair was combed back and contained in a ponytail. "He looks pretty good," Lily commented.

"Yes he does," Celeste said.

Lily could see the warning signs. "So do you, Celeste," she said. "You two will make a stunning couple."

"You think so?" Celeste asked anxiously.

"Yes I do," Lily said. "Let's go down."

Remus paced nervously around the common room. "Moony, will you _please_ calm down?" Sirius asked. "If she sees you pacing like that, she's going to think you don't want to go with her."

Remus stopped. He opened his mouth to reply, but his attention was captured by an angelic vision descending from the girls' dormitory. Lily came down dressed in emerald green dress robes, her dark red hair curled and pulled up so only a splash of red brushed against her shoulder as she tossed what was loose over her left side. He only spared her a passing glance, however. His attention was riveted on the young lady with her.

Celeste wore a set of turquoise dress robes that looked more like a dress than actual robes. Her long white hair was done in such a way that she seemed to be surrounded by a halo of light. The robes fell off her shoulders, giving her the vague look of a beautiful creature rising up from the sea. She didn't seem to be as pale as she usually was, and her light silver eyes seemed to glow as she walked down the steps. Her face lit up as she caught sight of him, putting the perfect finishing touch on her already angelic beauty.

"Hi," he said, as she came down to his side.

"Hello," she said shyly. He offered her his arm, and she took it.

"You look absolutely stunning, Celeste," Remus told her.

"You do too," Celeste said.

"Shall we go?" Remus asked.

"All right." Remus led her over to the portrait hole and helped her out. Neither of them saw the stunned looks on Sirius and Peter's faces, or the slightly triumphant looks on James and Lily's.

"Remus, I was wondering," she began. "Did you like the present I gave you?"

Remus looked at her with an incredulous smile on his face. "Celeste, I loved it," he said. "You know how much of a bookworm I am. I've never read any of those, and they're all books I've wanted to read. I think that you're about the only other person I know who would even _want_ to read books that old."

"Lily remembered that you had said you would like some new books," Celeste said, blushing. "I wanted a special gift for you, because –." She turned bright red and stopped.

Remus didn't notice. He seemed very interested in one of the suits of armor. "So, did you like your gift?" he asked. "I know that the owl is your favorite bird." He lowered his voice. "And I know that it was you watching me in the Shrieking Shack this last time, when no one else was there. You know, the day you got that detention."

Celeste froze. "Dites-moi s'il vous plaît que vous n'avez dit personne d'autre, Remus. Dites-moi s'il vous plaît que personne ne sait. Je ne suis pas - je ne suis pas censé être capable de le faire," she breathed, her face as white as her hair beneath the thin layer of cosmetics. (Please tell me you haven't told anyone else, Remus. Please tell me no one knows. I'm not - I'm not supposed to be able to do it.)

Remus turned and took her trembling face in his hands. "Celeste, écoutez et croyez-moi. Je n'ai jamais dit personne de James et les autres. Je ne dirais jamais personne de vous non plus. Vous êtes plus précieux à moi qu'à peu près quelqu'un je sais. Et je ferais n'importe quoi et tout dans mon pouvoir de vous protéger," he told her. His accent was atrocious, but his words were well chosen. (Celeste, listen and believe me. I've never told anyone about James and the others. I'd never tell anyone about you either. You're more precious to me than just about anyone I know. And I would do anything and everything in my power to protect you.)

"Merci, Remus. Vous n'avez aucune idée que cela me signifie," Celeste said. (Thank you, Remus. You have no idea how much that means to me.) She smiled, and Remus felt his heart lurch in his chest. "Perhaps we should go into the ball now. We do not want to attract too much attention."

"Right," Remus said. He took her hand and the two of them started through the large double doors, but were stopped by a very palpable barrier. The two of them looked around in confusion.

"Bien, n'est pas cela une jolie vue. Vous ne saviez pas que vous devez embrasser votre partenaire sous le gui, Celeste? C'est la seule façon de traverser les portes. Je crois que c'est assez amusant. Vous ?" Catherine and Severus were standing just beyond the door, smirking at the now frozen pair. (Well, isn't this a pretty sight. Didn't you know that you have to kiss your partner under the mistletoe, Celeste? That's the only way to get through the doors. I think it's rather amusing. Don't you?)

"Will you please stick to English?" Severus snapped impatiently. Catherine blushed a little.

"You think she's right?" Remus asked.

"She has no reason to lie," Celeste said. "It will be funnier to her if we kiss." She looked up and saw the enchanted mistletoe gleaming above them.

Remus was able to turn and pull her close. Celeste tilted her face up, her heart pounding in her chest. Remus gave her a sweet but loving kiss and they both felt the bindings release. They hurried forward into the room.

A few minutes later, James and Lily were forced into the same predicament. Shortly after them, Sirius and Peter and their dates were also caught by the mistletoe. James and Lily gave the school a show, while Peter and Sirius kept their kisses short and sweet.

Remus and Celeste joined their friends. "I wonder whose bright idea _that_ was," Lily muttered mutinously as she pointed to the enchanted plants hanging all across the top of the double doors.

"Either Slughorn or Dumbledore," Sirius said. "That's more like their senses of humor."

"It would have been Flitwick who charmed them though," Remus said. "He's the best at charms, after all."

"Well, let's go find seats at one of the tables," Lily said.

"It looks like we can get four to a table," Sirius said. James, Lily, Remus, and Celeste took over one table. Peter, Sirius, and their dates took over the other one.

The tables were set with the familiar golden plates and crystal goblets. Little menus on gilded paper rested on top of each plate. The teachers took their places at the high table, which was the only one of the usual long tables that hadn't been removed from the Great Hall. Dumbledore took his place in the huge, golden chair and lifted up his menu. "Salmon," he said firmly. "Baked potato. Spinach salad. Elf made wine." All of these things appeared on his plate and in his glass.

Celeste lifted up her menu, frowning a little in thought. Beside her, Remus had already decided what he wanted. "Steak, baked potato, steamed vegetables, and pumpkin juice," he said. The food appeared on his plate.

"What are you having, Celeste?" Lily asked. James also already had his food. The two young men were obviously waiting for the ladies to order as well.

"It all looks so good," Celeste said. She skimmed through the menu once more. "I think, yes, I want Salmon, baked potato, mushrooms, and pomegranate juice." The food appeared on her plate.

"That looks good," Lily said. "I think I feel like seafood today as well." She paused again as she made her final decisions. "Salmon, Caesar salad, baked potato, and pomegranate juice." Her food appeared as well. The four of them settled down to their meal.

When everyone was finished eating, the tables vanished. Those still seated at the tables got to their feet and the chairs vanished, only to reappear along the sides of the room. "Would all prefects, and our Head Boy and Head Girl please bring their partners into the center of the room?" Dumbledore called.

"What?" Celeste asked. Remus looked as confused as she was.

"Oh no," Lily whispered. "I'm so sorry. I forgot about this. All the prefects and the Head Boy and Girl have to start the dancing."

"Well, let's get this over with," Remus said with a sigh. Celeste nodded. He offered her his hand and she took it. The two of them joined the other nine couples. The music started, and Remus led Celeste into the first dance.

Celeste turned out to be a very skilled dancer, and Remus found he rather enjoyed dancing with her. The first song ended, but neither of them made any move to leave the dance floor. It was a need to catch their breaths that finally drove them to the chairs at the edge of the room.

"You sit here for a moment," Remus said, leaving her next to Sirius. "I'll go get us a couple of drinks."

"All right," Celeste said.

Sirius irritated his date by waiting until Remus returned before taking her back out onto the dance floor. "Here you are," he said, handing her a glass of punch.

"Remus, is that not a Slytherin girl Sirius is dancing with?" Celeste asked curiously.

"Yes it is," Remus said calmly. "Her name is Raven. She's actually really very nice. It was a shock to everyone when she was placed in Slytherin. She's a conniver, and very sneaky. She's also one of the cleverest witches in my year." He paused. "She's also very deeply in love with Sirius, though she won't admit it."

"You can see that," Celeste said. "If you have eyes to see it." She switched to French to keep the people around her from understanding her. "Sirius aime-t-il le Raven? Je veux dire, il semble qu'il fasse." (Does Sirius love Raven? I mean, he looks like he does.)

"Il est amoureux très beaucoup d'elle. Ils ne finissent pas passer trop de temps ensemble à cause de la querelle en cours entre Gryffindor et Slytherin. Mais je sais vraiment que sur le jour férié d'été ils planifient en accomplissement ensemble. Le fait de parler du jour férié d'été, qu'allez-vous faire?" Remus switched over to French as well. (He's very much in love with her. They don't get to spend too much time together because of the ongoing feud between Gryffindor and Slytherin. But I do know that over the summer holiday they're planning on getting together. Speaking of the summer holiday, what are you going to be doing?)

"Je retourne à Abigail. Il est où je suis censé être pendant tout l'été. Catherine ira fort probablement passent l'été avec Narcissa et Bellatrix," Celeste told him. (I'm going back to Abigail. It's where I'm supposed to be over the summer. Catherine will most likely go spend the summer with Narcissa and Bellatrix.)

"Je vais rester avec James pour l'été. Je sais que Sirius sera là aussi. Voudriez-vous peut-être venir nous rejoignent depuis un jour ou deux?" Remus asked. "Je sais que le Lily planifiait en arrivée aussi." (I am going to stay with James for summer. I know that Sirius will be also there. Would you perhaps like to come join us for day or two? I know that Lily planned on coming over too.)

"J'aimerais à. Je demanderai au Lily quand elle va ainsi je peux venir en même temps," Celeste said. (I'd love to. I'll ask Lily when she's going so I can come over at the same time.)

"What were you going to ask me?" Lily asked breathlessly as she dropped into the chair next to her.

"When you're going to the Potters' house," Celeste said.

"Oh, are you going to be there too, Remus?" Lily asked.

"James offered to let me spend the summer with him and Sirius," Remus said. "His parents don't mind, and I'm really not welcome at home. I'd rather be somewhere that I'm liked rather than somewhere I'm merely tolerated."

"I should be over around the middle of July. I'm going to spend a couple weeks there," Lily said. "My parents will be thrilled to know I'm not going to be the only girl there."

"Abigail will be fine with my staying there if I am not the only girl," Celeste said.

"Then it's settled," James said, handing Lily a glass of punch. "I'll let my parents know we're going to have a full house this summer. They'll love it. They adore kids, and since I'm an only child, it'll give them the chance to spoil all of my friends too."

"You think Abigail will let you come?" Lily asked.

Celeste shrugged. "Even if she does not, I will still be there," she said matter-of-factly. "You may think this wrong, but neither Catherine nor I have ever really paid much attention to what Abigail has said."

"Oh?" Remus asked.

Celeste sighed. "Abigail is a Squib, and she has always been bitterly jealous of anyone with magical power. She hates us because we represent something that she can never be. She tries to keep us from our books and our wands, and she tries to make us act as Muggles all summer. Catherine escapes to be with Narcissa and Bellatrix. I can escape for part of the summer to be with you."

"Celeste, I'll have to write my parents," Lily began slowly. "But how would you like to spend your summer with me?"

"Didn't you tell me your sister hates our world?" James asked.

"She's going away to camp this summer," Lily said. "I won't have to deal with her except for the first and last weeks of summer."

"If your parents do not mind, then I will tell Abigail she does not need to come to Kings Cross Station," Celeste said. "She will be happy about that. She doesn't like coming to where there are a lot of witches and wizards around."

"I'll send them an owl in the morning," Lily promised. Another slow song started, and James and Lily drifted back into the dancing. Sirius and Raven drifted off the floor over to the other side of the room.

Remus looked over at Celeste. She was beginning to droop. Social situations were never any fun for her, and the little trick with the mistletoe had to have been harder on her than it was on him. "Celeste, how about one more dance and then we make our escape?" he whispered. Celeste nodded, and the two of them got to their feet.

As the song changed into yet another slow song, the two of them rejoined those on the floor. As the words of the song rang out over the students, Celeste felt they fit her and Remus perfectly.

At the end of the song, the two of them left the great hall. They made their way back up the marble staircase hand in hand, murmuring to each other about the upcoming summer's delights. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She was drinking merrily with her friend Violet. "Flibbertigibbet," Remus said.

"Same to you," the Fat Lady said, hiccupping. She swung open to let them into the warmly lit Common Room. Professor McGonagall, at the request of a couple of the other teachers and Celeste, had finally relaxed and allowed the fourth years to attend the Ball. Those not attending the ball had gone home for the Christmas holiday. The room was completely empty.

"I think I'm going to go upstairs and change," Celeste said. "I am not tired enough to sleep, though."

"Come back down when you're through," Remus said. "I'm not ready to go to bed either."

"All right." Celeste went up to her room and quickly changed into her newly restored lavender dress. She removed the charm on her face and washed off the cosmetics. She even shook loose her hair and removed the curls. She decided not to braid it, but instead used a ribbon to keep her hair out of her face. Celeste hurried back down the stairs.

Remus had also changed, and was waiting for her. He looked up. "This is the first time I've seen you with your hair down," he commented.

"It takes too long to braid it," Celeste said. "I did not feel like taking so long to do my hair."

"That's ok," Remus said. "I think it looks lovely down. I'll bet it'll be a pain to brush out later, though."

Celeste shook her head. She tapped her hair with her wand and murmured something under her breath. "I have a charm that will keep it from tangling," she said. "It was one of the few things I learned from my mother." Her voice held a faint note of bitterness.

Remus sat down on one of the couches and motioned for her to sit next to him. She settled down beside him. "If you don't mind my asking, Celeste, what were your parents like? I mean, you know more about me – us – than we do about you."

"There is not much to tell," Celeste said. "I was born in Calais. My parents were fond of their parties and their comforts. They had never even entertained the thought of children. We put a stop to their more flamboyant parties for a while because my mother was too ill to do much. When she recovered, Catherine and I were dumped into the care of House Elves while my parents went back to their usual pursuits." Remus hesitantly put his arm around her shoulders.

"You and your sister had different names then, didn't you?" he asked gently.

"Mon nom est des Celestiel Hivers. Le nom de Catherine est des Cythendra Hivers. Le nom de ma mère était Marie et le nom de mon père était Jean-Marc. Je peux d'habitude pardonner aux gens n'importe quoi, mais je ne peux jamais et je ne pardonnerai jamais à mes parents pour qu'ils ont fait à ma soeur et moi," Celeste said, reverting to French once more. Remus knew from experience that talking about distressing things was always easier for her in her native tongue. (My name is Celestiel Winters. Catherine's name is Cythendra Winters. My mother's name was Marie, and my father's name was Jean-Marc. I can usually forgive people anything, but I can never and I will never forgive my parents for what they've done to my sister and me.)

"Celestiel," he repeated. "That's a lovely name."

"Je suppose que ma pensée de parents en m'appelant pour un ange ferait des choses mieux entre nous. Mais la vérité de la question est ils nous ont détestés. Ils ne nous ont jamais voulus. Nous étions juste un fardeau à eux comme les bébés et quand nous sommes devenus assez vieux pour être un peu utiles, nous étions des poupées simplement dégénérées, être agrémentés et faits étalage devant les sorcières sans nombre et les sorciers pour montrer comment parfait mes parents pitoyables ont été censés être," Celeste said bitterly. (I suppose my parents thought naming me for an angel would make things better between us. But the truth of the matter is they hated us. They never wanted us. We were just a burden to them as infants, and when we got old enough to be of some use, we were merely overgrown dolls, to be dressed up and paraded in front of countless witches and wizards to show how perfect my pathetic parents were supposed to be.)

"I'm sorry," Remus said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Celeste blinked. "Ce n'est pas votre faute, Remus. Mes parents ne comprennent pas toujours tout qu'ils nous ont fait. Ce qui est plus mauvais, ils ne croient pas qu'ils aient fait n'importe quoi mal. Je crois que c'est ce qui me fait mal le plus. Mais je suis heureux ici en Angleterre. J'ai des amis qui se soucient de moi et je vais à une école qui est le meilleur en Europe. Ici j'ai tout que je voulais jamais, à part une famille qui m'aime. Et avec vous et les autres, je même vraiment n'en ai pas besoin," Celeste told him. She leaned her head against his shoulder. (It's not your fault, Remus. My parents still don't understand everything they've done to us. What's worse, they don't think they've done anything wrong. I think that's what hurts me the most. But I am happy here in England. I have friends who care about me, and I'm going to a school that is the best in Europe. Here I have everything I ever wanted, except for a family that loves me. And with you and the others, I don't even really need that.)

"We're your family now, Celeste," Remus told her firmly. "We'll be here for you no matter what. I know I can speak for the others in this because they feel the same way about you as I do."

A little of the light died in Celeste's eyes. "Je suis - je suis heureux pour cela," she said softly. (I'm - I'm glad for that.)

Remus hadn't missed the shift in her mood. "Celeste, m'aimez-vous?" he blurted, slipping into French as well. (Celeste, do you love me?)

Celeste turned almost as red as the couch they were sitting on. "Oui, Remus. Je crois que je vous ai aimés depuis ma première année ici à Hogwarts," she admitted. (Yes, Remus. I think I've loved you since my very first year here at Hogwarts.)3

Remus tilted her face up so he could look into her eyes. "Je vous aime, Celeste," he whispered, his golden eyes locked with her pale silver ones. (I love you, Celeste.) "Je ne l'ai jamais eu l'impression d'être d'une autre personne dans ma vie entière. Vous êtes la personne la plus spéciale que je connais et je ne peux pas penser aux dépenses de ma vie sans vous à mon côté." (I've never felt like this about another person in my entire life. You are the most special person I know, and I can't think of spending my life without you at my side.)

Celeste burst into tears. Remus saw the smile behind them, though, and pulled her closer. He tilted his face down and hesitantly placed his lips against hers. She returned his kiss with the same hesitancy. Soon, their kiss deepened and for a moment, they shut out the entire world and existed only for each other. Finally, they broke apart. Just in time too, because the portrait hole swung open and Sirius wandered into the common room.

"You two bugged out early too?" he asked in a determinedly cheerful voice.

"Yes," Remus said. "Neither of us is really big on parties. You know that. Are you ok, Padfoot?"

"I'm fine," Sirius said. "Why?"

"You do not look fine," Celeste said bluntly.

"Some Slytherins made their opinions very well known about a Gryffindor boy dating a Slytherin girl. Raven ended up getting dragged off by Slughorn. I didn't see where she went, so I just left," Sirius said bitterly.

"See if James is willing to ask his parents if she can also join us this summer," Remus suggested.

"Good idea," Sirius said. "I'll catch him when he comes up to the dorm." Sirius vanished up the stairs to the boys rooms.

Celeste leaned her head back against Remus' shoulder. The two of them no longer felt the need to talk. They simply stared into the fire, taking delight in each other's company. Finally, worn out by the day's excitement, the two of them drifted off to sleep.

James and Lily entered the common room along with several of the other Gryffindors. "Aw, how cute," Terrilee sneered as she caught sight of Celeste and Remus dozing on the couch. "McGonagall will love the fact that her pet prefect and his stupid bitch girlfriend are sleeping together."

Before anyone could blink, Terrilee found herself tossed halfway across the room by a hex. "If you so much as breathe a word of your sick, pathetic lies to Professor McGonagall, you'll seriously regret it," Lily snapped. The other fifth year girls also had their wands out. "You and your lot have made her life a living hell for the past three years. It ends now."

"You can't do anything to us," Regina began.

"You wanna bet?" Coral snapped. "We can do a great deal to you, and even if you try to tell McGonagall, she won't believe you."

James and Peter also drew out their wands. "You know why she won't believe you?" James asked conversationally. "Because we'll all vouch for the fact that you attacked us first."

"She'd know you were lying," Esther protested.

"Would she?" Peter asked nastily.

"If you don't mind, there are people trying to sleep around here," an irritated voice said from behind them. "Oh hell. What are you idiots up to _this_ time?" Sirius had emerged from the boys' wing. His wand was out and pointed at the fourth year girls.

"They're threatening to tell McGonagall that Remus and Celeste were sleeping together in the Common Room," Lily said.

Sirius cast a quick glance at Remus and Celeste. "I suppose in a technical sense they are," he said reasonably. Then his face darkened. "But you'd infer something far more disgusting, wouldn't you, Terrilee?" Sirius brushed his long hair out of his face. "You know, we still owe you and your brother for what he and his friends did to James. We also owe you for what you girls have done to Celeste."

"If you lot wake her up, full moon or not I'll rip all of you new assholes," Remus growled, opening his eyes. They were practically glowing gold. "Also, if I don't see ALL those wands disappear, every last one of you will end up in detentions." All wands disappeared very quickly. "Lily, Nora, will you two help Celeste up to bed?"

"Sure," Lily said. Celeste stirred, but it was obvious she wasn't really awake. Lily and Nora took her upstairs to their room.

Remus stood up. "I suggest you all go to bed," he said. "Right now." Everyone scattered to their dormitories. Remus waited until everyone was out of the common room before heading up to bed himself.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Terrilee went to Professor McGonagall. She told the head of Gryffindor House that she'd come in from the dance and found Remus and Celeste together on the couch. She didn't come out and say anything specific, but the inference was there. McGonagall immediately called Remus into her office. "Lupin, I've received some very disturbing news about you and Miss Winters," she began.

"Let me guess," Remus sighed. "Terrilee told you we were sleeping on the couch when she came into the Common Room." Professor McGonagall looked shocked at his tacit admission. "What she neglected to tell you is that we really were asleep. We'd been talking, but we were more tired than we thought. So we ended up falling asleep. She had her head on my shoulder, and I had my arm around her shoulders."

"She also said something about being attacked by the fifth year girls," McGonagall said.

"Now that I can't honestly say if it did or didn't happen," Remus said. "I was asleep for most of the confrontation between the other students and the fourth year girls. But from what I could see, things were getting out of hand. I ended up threatening everyone with detention if they didn't put their wands away and go up to bed."

"Very well," Professor McGonagall said. "Please make sure that those girls aren't tormenting Miss Winters. If they are, I want to know immediately."

"Yes professor," Remus said. He went back up to Gryffindor Tower.

The rest of the year passed with little to mark it other than the occasional torments by the fourth year girls. Celeste sat her O.W.L. tests. Although she slipped a couple times in her practicals, she did very well. Finally, it was getting closer to the time when they would all be leaving Hogwarts for the summer.

"Celeste! I finally heard back from my parents," Lily said, coming into the Common Room. "They say you can come stay with me. Apparently, Petunia couldn't make up her mind as to whether or not she was going away to summer camp. If she wasn't going, mum and dad weren't going to let me have friends over."

"So she is going to camp?" Celeste asked. Lily nodded. "Then I must send an owl to Abigail to tell her that I am going home with you." Celeste jotted a quick note to her Squib guardian and sent it off.

A few days later, Abigail's response was delivered at breakfast. "So? What does she say?" Remus asked. He saw that Celeste had gone very pale and was shaking.

She didn't answer. Instead, she got to her feet and walked over to the Slytherin table. "Cythendra, nous sommes dans le problème sérieux. Abigail m'a juste envoyé une lettre en disant que la maman et le papa viennent en Angleterre. Ils veulent nous reprendre en France, nous présenter à certains jeunes hommes avec qui ils veulent que nous nous mariions," she said, reverting both to French and to her sister's birth name. (Cythendra, we're in serious trouble. Abigail just sent me a letter saying mum and dad are coming to England. They want to take us back to France, to introduce us to some young men they want us to marry.)

"La maman et le papa peuvent juste aller au diable. Je ne retourne pas en France et je ne me marie pas avec les excuses sans cervelle, molles et pitoyables aux garçons qu'ils ont déterrés pour nous," Catherine snapped. "Je vais passer l'été avec Narcissa et Bellatrix. Ils nous ont envoyé ici pour se débarrasser de nous. Ils veulent oublier que nous existons. Ainsi à moi, nos parents n'existent pas. Ils ne sont rien et je ne leur obéirai jamais de nouveau." (Mom and dad can just go to hell. I'm not going back to France, and I'm not marrying the brainless, spineless, and pathetic excuses for boys that they've dug up for us. I'm going to spend the summer with Narcissa and Bellatrix. They sent us here to get rid of us. They want to forget we exist. So, to me, our parents don't exist. They're nothing and I will never obey them again.)

"Me soutiendrez-vous si je décide de faire la même chose? Ou me trahirez-vous comme vous faisiez toujours?" Celeste asked. (Will you back me up if I decide to do the same thing? Or will you betray me like you've always done?)

Catherine got up and stood face to face with her sister. "Si vous avez le courage pour être contre nos parents, je me tiendrai debout avec vous. Sur cela, nous sommes vraiment d'accord. Ils nous ont traités comme nous étions moins même que les domestiques. Ils nous ont seulement parlé quand ils ont voulu quelque chose. Je ne retourne pas à cette vie et je ne crois pas que vous deviez non plus. Ainsi oui, Celestiel. Je me tiendrai debout avec vous contre nos parents, si vous me promettez le même soutien," she said seriously. (If you've got the courage to stand against our parents, I'll stand with you. On this, we do agree. They've treated us like we were less even than the servants. They only spoke to us when they wanted something. I'm not going back to that life, and I don't think you should either. So, yes, Celestiel. I will stand with you against our parents, if you promise me the same support.)

"Alors vous allez passent votre été avec vos amis et je passerai mon été avec mes amis. Si la maman et le papa ne l'aiment pas, eh bien, donc ils ne devraient pas nous avoir jetés comme la semaine les vieilles ordures pour commencer," Celeste said firmly. (Then you go spend your summer with your friends, and I'll spend my summer with my friends. If mom and dad don't like it, well, then they shouldn't have thrown us out like week old garbage to begin with.)

"Concordé. Ayez un été bon," Catherine said. She returned to her seat, and Celeste returned to the Gryffindor table. (Agreed. Have a good summer.)

"What was that all about?" James asked.

"My parents have come to England," Celeste said. "They wish to take us back to France and have chosen husbands for us to marry. We won't be leaving with them. I just needed to make sure she would stand up to my parents and back me so when I do the same thing she will be there to back me up."

"You think you can trust her?" Sirius asked.

"For this, yes," Celeste said firmly. "Our parents threw us aside as if we were trash. The House Elves were treated better than we were most of the time. The only time our parents ever took notice of us was when they wanted to show us off to their friends. We were living dolls, to be trotted out and then packed away again until it was convenient for them to notice us. Finally they sent us to England to get rid of us because we were a threat to their lifestyle." None of the group had ever seen Celeste this angry. "Now they come back and say they will take us back to France. I will not go. Catherine will not go."

"You two aren't of age yet," Peter began.

Celeste smiled grimly. "If we humiliate them bad enough at Kings Cross Station they will not want to take us," she said.

Two days later, all the students got on board the Hogwarts Express. Celeste excused herself and hunted her sister down. There was a brief discussion, and Celeste returned to the car she was sharing with her friends. "Everything all settled?" Lily asked. Celeste nodded. She was shaking violently and looked a little ill.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Remus asked gently.

"Yes I am," Celeste said. There was a fierce light in her silver eyes. "I am not giving up what I have found just because my parents are idiots." Remus took her hand in his. She wrapped her fingers around his and held tightly.

They arrived at King's Cross Station, and Celeste was almost sick with fear. She peered out the window. "Are they there?" Sirius asked.

"The woman with the black hair and dressed in the Muggle suit, that is Abigail," Celeste said. "The two with her, the man with blonde hair and the woman with white hair, those are my parents."

"They look like really nasty people," Lily commented. "Those are my parents, and the dyspeptic-looking girl is my younger sister Petunia. She leaves for camp at the end of the week."

"Will your parents be willing to wait while I talk to mine?" Celeste asked.

"Even if they're not, they're going to," Lily promised.

"If they don't, my folks and I'll stick around to make sure you get out of here safely," James added.

"Thank you." Celeste turned just as the door opened.

"Est-ce que vous êtes prêts?" Catherine asked. (Are you ready?)

"Non, mais allons-y. Je veux en finir avec cela aussi vite que possible," Celeste said. (No, but let's go. I want to get this over with as fast as possible.) For the first time since they came to England, the twins took hands and walked off the Hogwarts Express together.

"Mes filles douces, là vous êtes! Je suis heureux ainsi de vous voir. Comment avez-vous été?" Mme. Hivers said with false cheer. (My sweet daughters, there you are! I'm so glad to see you. How have you been?)

"Complètement misérable, comme si vous vous êtes souciés," Catherine said coldly. (Completely miserable, as if you cared.)

"Maintenant Cythendra, qu'une voie est-elle de parler à votre mère?" M. Hivers said mildly. (Really Cythendra, is that any way to talk to your mother?)

"Cette femme n'est pas notre mère. Elle peut nous avoir donné la naissance, mais elle n'est pas notre mère. Et vous, M. Hivers, n'êtes pas notre père. Vous n'êtes tous les deux rien d'autre que tyrans froids, manipulateurs qui croient que juste parce que vous voulez quelque chose que vous pouvez détruire des vies pour le recevoir," Celeste snapped. (That woman is not our mother. She may have given us birth, but she is not our mother. And you, Mr. Winters, are not our father. You're both nothing more than cold, manipulative bullies who think that just because you want something that you can destroy lives to get it.)

"Celestiel," Mme. Hivers began.

"Celeste de mon nom, comme Catherine de son nom," Celeste replied quickly. (My name is Celeste, just like her name is Catherine.)

"Votre nom est Celestiel et son nom est Cythendra. Vous êtes nos filles et vous ferez comme on vous dit. Vous revenez en France avec nous. Recevez vos choses et suivez-moi," M. Hivers snapped. (Your name is Celestiel, and her name is Cythendra. You are our daughters, and you will do as you're told. You're coming back to France with us. Get your things and follow me.)

"Non," Catherine said, tightening her grip on her sister's hand. Celeste echoed her response.

"Non?" her father asked incredulously.

"Non," Celeste repeated. "Vous nous avez jetés comme nous étions des ordures. Vous ne nous avez jamais voulus. Nous sommes des poupées juste dégénérées à vous. Bien, voici quelques nouvelles pour vous, le père. Vos poupées dégénérées ont été juste apportées à la vie. Nous aimons l'Angleterre, nous aimons nos vies ici et nous aimons notre école. Nous sommes tant amoureux d'autres garçons, que nous n'allons pas nous marier avec quelqu'un juste parce que vous croyez que nous devrions. Retournez à votre amusement et vos jeux. Mais quittez-nous-en. Comme vous avez fait toutes nos vies." (You threw us out like we were garbage. You've never wanted us. We're just overgrown dolls to you. Well, here's some news for you, father. Your overgrown dolls were just brought to life. We love England, we love our lives here, and we love our school. We're both in love with other boys, and we're not going to marry someone just because you think we should. Go back to your fun and your games. But leave us out of it. Just like you've done all of our lives.)

"Vous êtes des enfants juste stupides, qui ne comprennent rien du monde adulte," Mme. Hivers began. (You're just stupid children, who don't understand anything about the adult world.)

Both Cythendra and Celeste snorted derisively. "Qui était cela qui a lancé une crise de rage parce qu'une autre sorcière a acheté les mêmes robes de robe qu'elle et les a portés au même parti? Qui était cela qui a cassé chaque miroir dans la maison quand il a trouvé des cheveux gris simples sur sa tête? Qui était cela qui a brûlé tous ses vêtements quand elle s'est rendue compte qu'ils n'étaient pas des modes qui ont été exclusivement faites pour elle? Qui était cela qui a donné les vêtements de domestiques quand ils ont prouvé qu'ils ont voulu nous aider et nous rendre heureux? Qui était cela qui a décidé de lancer leurs enfants aux loups parce qu'ils étaient dans la façon de sortir et s'amuser tout le temps?" Cythendra asked scathingly. (Who was it who threw a tantrum because another witch bought the same dress robes as her, and wore them to the same party? Who was it who broke every mirror in the house when he found a single gray hair on his head? Who was it who burned all of her clothes when she realized that they weren't fashions that were exclusively made for her? Who was it who gave the servants clothes when they proved that they wanted to help us and make us happy? Who was it who decided to throw their children to the wolves because they were in the way of going out and having fun all the time?)

"Pourquoi vous ne retournez pas en France et oubliez tous de nous? Simulez juste que nous n'existons pas. J'ai presque oublié. À vous, nous n'existons pas d'habitude . Sortez maintenant de notre voie. Nos amis nous attendent et nous sommes désolés de les faire attendre. Oh, et nous ne retournons pas à Abigail. Les amis de Catherine sont disposés à laisser son séjour avec eux sur chaque jour férié et je suis assez sûr le mien sont aussi. Bon au revoir, M. et Mme. Hivers. Ne traversez pas s'il vous plaît nos sentiers de nouveau. Si vous faites, vous le regretterez," Celeste said coldly. She was visibly straining, and Catherine simply pulled her along behind her. (Why don't you go back to France and forget all about us? Just pretend we don't exist. I almost forgot. To you, we usually don't exist. Now get out of our way. Our friends are waiting for us, and we hate making them wait. Oh, and we are not going back to Abigail. Catherine's friends are willing to let her stay with them over every holiday, and I'm pretty sure mine are too. Good bye, Mr. and Mrs. Winters. Please don't cross our paths again. If you do, you will regret it.)

"Petits gosses ingrats! Vous ne recevrez pas plus d'argent de nous. Comment allez-vous à l'école si vous ne pouvez pas payer pour cela?" Mme. Hivers shrieked. (Ungrateful little brats! You won't get any more money from us. How are you going to school if you can't pay for it?)

James stepped forward. "Mes parents et moi paierons pour l'enseignement de Celeste. Il est le moindre nous pouvons faire, en considérant tout qu'elle a été par," he said, after a quick and whispered conference with both his parents and a quick translation from Lily. (My parents and I will pay for Celeste's schooling. It's the least we can do, considering everything she's been through.)

"Comme elle est le meilleur ami de mes filles, j'y verrai que Catherine est gardée," Cormoran Black said, after a quickly muttered spell granted him the ability to speak French. (As she is my daughters' best friend, I will see to it that Catherine is taken care of.)

The Hivers glared at their daughters for another moment before turning and, with two very loud and audible pops, they Disapparated. "You can go now, Abigail," Catherine said. "We don't need you anymore. I'll be by later this summer to get my things."

"I do not have anything at your house," Celeste said. "Except for one thing that I do not want. So I will not see you this summer." She turned and joined Lily and her family as they walked off of the platform.

"Mum, dad, how about some lunch at the Leaky Cauldron?" Lily asked quickly. "You can meet James and his parents, as well as meeting a couple of my other friends."

"You promised we could go shopping for what I need for camp," Petunia whined.

"Well, we don't actually need to go with you, do we, Petunia?" Mr. Evans asked.

"I'll go with her," Mrs. Evans said. "You go with Lily and this young lady to meet the others." Lily exchanged a knowing glance with her mother. Petunia was about ready to have a major meltdown, and would have if one of her parents hadn't agreed to come shopping with her. The fact that her mother was the one going with her would mean more to her, since Lily was much closer to her mother than she was to her father.

"If you say so, dear," Mr. Evans said. He limped after the girls as they headed to the Leaky Cauldron.

Lunch was a pleasant affair, with the Potters proving to be very agreeable people. It also gave Celeste a chance to relax. She'd been on the verge of collapsing by the time she and Catherine had walked away from their parents. Finally, Lily looked over at her father. "Think mum and Petunia are finished shopping yet?"

"Oh probably," Mr. Evans said. "Petunia didn't need all that much for camp."

"Well, we'd better go meet them," Lily said. "See you guys next month."

"See you next month, Red," James said. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. Remus took Celeste's hand and kissed it.

"I'll see you soon," he promised. She smiled and nodded.

Sirius ruffled Celeste's hair and gave Lily a florid bow. "Ladies," he said with a charming grin. He followed James, Remus, and the Potters out. A moment later, Celeste and Lily followed Mr. Evans out.

During the three days it took for Petunia to head off for camp, Celeste learned why Lily spent as much time as possible in her room doing her schoolwork. Petunia was distinctively unpleasant, and made it clear that she thought that Lily and Celeste were freaks.

"Désolé de cela ," Lily said after a particularly nasty confrontation with Petunia. "Nous avons eu l'habitude d'être vraiment proches, mais depuis que j'ai commencé à Hogwarts, elle est reçue très déplaisante." The girls had started using French after Petunia started teasing them about their private conversations. (Sorry about this. We used to be really close, but ever since I started at Hogwarts, she's gotten very nasty.)

"Elle est probablement très jalouse de vous," Celeste said. They settled back on the floor of Lily's room. Both girls were wearing bell bottoms and gypsy style blouses. Lily's hair was up in a ponytail while Celeste's was in her usual plait. Destin was purring contentedly from her perch on Lily's bed. They looked like ordinary Muggle teenagers. The only thing that looked out of the ordinary was the fact that both girls had spellbooks open in front of them and they were writing on parchment with eagle feather quills. (She is probably very jealous of you.)

"Jaloux?" Lily asked. (Jealous?)

"Vous êtes plus jolis qu'elle. Vous êtes très élégants et vous êtes une sorcière extrêmement douée aussi. Votre mère vous gâte non seulement, elle est évidemment un de vos meilleurs amis. Votre père vous appelle sa 'petite princesse. Votre soeur est le deuxième enfant et elle estime que vos parents ne la veulent pas vraiment. Je la plains pour cela, mais je ne sens pas tout que désolé d'elle. La partie de son problème est son attitude absolument horrible," Celeste said. (You're prettier than her. You're very smart, and you're a highly gifted witch as well. Your mother not only spoils you, she's obviously one of your best friends. Your father calls you his 'little princess'. Your sister is the second child, and she feels that your parents don't really want her. I feel sorry for her for that, but I don't feel all that sorry for her. Part of her problem is her absolutely horrible attitude.)

"Vous savez, il se sent un peu surnaturel de faire le travail de classe quand nous ne devons vraiment faire rien. Je veux dire, je n'ai jamais eu d'été depuis que j'ai commencé à Hogwarts où je n'avais pas de devoirs. J'explore d'habitude une potion surnaturelle pour Slughorn ou un morceau déplaisant de Transfiguration pour McGonagall," Lily commented as she made notes about a very complicated potion. (You know, it feels a little weird to be doing schoolwork when we don't actually have to do anything. I mean, I've never had a summer since I started at Hogwarts where I didn't have any homework. I'm usually researching some weird potion for Slughorn or a nasty bit of Transfiguration for McGonagall.)

"Quand recevons-nous nos résultats d'examen?" Celeste asked, frowning at the vague instructions on a different potion. (When do we get our exam results?)

"Le professeur McGonagll m'a dit que nous les recevrions dans environ un mois. Nous serons finis à la maison de Confitures quand ils sont envoyés. N'inquiéter pas. Les hibous seront capables de nous trouver là. Les hibous scolaires sont bons à la conclusion des étudiants peu importe où ils sont," Lily told her. (Professor McGonagall told me that we'd get them in about a month. We'll be over at James' house when they're sent out. Don't worry. The owls will be able to find us there. The school owls are good at finding students no matter where they are.) "Nous devons passer l'examen pour chaque classe avec un 'Excède des Attentes' si nous voulons prendre la classe de niveau N.E.W.T. Je parierai que vous devenez un 'Exceptionnels' dans les potions, Celeste. Je vous ai regardés pendant votre pratique. Vous avez complètement détruit votre compétition. Je pense vous et je suis les seuls qui est même arrivé n'importe où près pour lequel ils ont demandé." (We have to pass the exam for each class with an 'Exceeds Expectations' if we want to take the N.E.W.T. level class. I'll bet you get an 'Outstanding' in potions, Celeste. I watched you during your practical. You totally destroyed your competition. I think you and I are the only ones who even got anywhere near what they asked for.)

"Bien, je veux vraiment prendre des Potions. Je veux aussi prendre la Transfiguration, que je crois que j'ai fait assez bon avec aussi. Il est juste que je veux prendre des Charmes et des Runes Anciennes aussi, mais je ne crois pas que j'aie passé mes Charmes O.W.L. avec une assez haute marque. J'ai sali sur l'essai, je suis sûr, parce qu'ils parlaient environ des périodes de paire que je n'ai pas reconnues," Celeste admitted. (Well, I do want to take Potions. I also want to take Transfiguration, which I think I did pretty good with as well. It's just that I want to take Charms and Ancient Runes too, but I don't think I passed my Charms O.W.L. with a high enough mark. I messed up on the essay, I'm sure, because they were talking about a couple spells I didn't recognize.)

"Quel deux? J'ai cru que nous avons revu tous les charmes que les cinquièmes années auraient appris avec vous," Lily asked, frowning in puzzlement. (Which two? I thought we went over all the charms that the fifth years would have learned with you.)

"Le charme d'eau et ce charme de brise clair," Celeste replied. (The water charm and that light breeze charm.)

"Je me souviens de ces questions. Bien, le charme d'eau est une période de niveau N.E.W.T. Mais le charme de vent doit être un cinquième charme d'année. Flitwick ne nous a jamais enseigné qu'un et maintenant que vous l'avez mentionné, je ne crois pas que j'aie reçu cet un droit non plus," Lily said. (I remember those questions. Well, the water charm is a N.E.W.T. level spell. But the wind charm is supposed to be a fifth year charm. Flitwick never taught us that one, and now that you mentioned it, I don't think I got that one right either.)

"Mum, Lily and her friend are talking in a foreign language," Petunia called from the hallway. "They're probably saying nasty things about me. Make them stop!"

"Lily, what are you two speaking in now?" Mrs. Evans asked wearily.

"French," Lily called as she got up and walked over to her door. She opened it and gave Petunia a withering look. "It's Celeste's primary language, mum. She can't speak it at school because there aren't too many people there who speak French. So she tends to speak it a lot during the summer. Besides, we _weren't_ talking about Petunia. We were discussing our classes and the tests we just took. Also, my door was closed, which means Petunia was listening at the door crack _again_."

"Petunia, quit listening in to your sister's conversations," Mrs. Evans said sternly, as she came down the hall. "Celeste, I'm sorry, but do you think you can speak English until after Petunia goes to camp?"

"If you wish this, I can," Celeste said. "If I am offending, I can speak English only. I am just more comfortable in speaking French."

"I'm surprised you even managed to get through school if you can't speak proper English," Petunia sneered.

"Petunia! You will _not_ be rude to your sister's guest," Mrs. Evans said angrily. "I'm beginning to wonder if I ought to let you go to camp, considering that your manners seem to have slipped into the pre-primary school level."

"Mum!" Petunia wailed. "I've been wanting to go to this camp _forever._"

"Do not worry, Mrs. Evans," Celeste said quickly. "I know that my English, it is very bad. This is why I am happy to have Lily as a friend. She understands me even when I do not say my words right."

"That's all well and good," Mrs. Evans said. "But it doesn't excuse Petunia's rudeness." She turned to her younger daughter. "If you can manage to behave for the rest of the day, I'll make sure your father and I are up and ready to take you to the station in the morning."

"Yes mum," Petunia said. She vanished into her room.

"Well, at least she can't make trouble for us in there," Lily muttered as soon as her mother went back to the kitchen.

"I take it back, Lily," Celeste said. "I do not feel sorry for Petunia at all." The two girls returned to Lily's room to continue their work on obscure potions.

The next day, Mr. and Mrs. Evans got up at 4 a.m. to take Petunia to King's Cross Station so she could catch the train to Boscastle. There she, and fourteen other teenage girls, would be hosted by some of the families while they explored the region for two whole months. Petunia was thrilled with the idea. Lily woke up and went down to breakfast, but Celeste continued to sleep. Lily hadn't been able to wake her up.

"Where's your friend?" Petunia asked, carefully keeping her voice neutral. She didn't want to ruin her chances of getting out this late in the game.

"Still asleep," Lily said worriedly. "I couldn't wake her up." She shook her head and took the coffee her father offered her. "She's had a bad year, and was plagued by nightmares all the way through the end of term. She's probably just completely exhausted. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Did you want to come to the station with us?" Mrs. Evans asked.

Lily took one look at her sister's pleading eyes and shook her head. "No. I'm thinking I'll go back to bed. I just got up to say good bye." She walked over and gave her sister a quick hug. "Have fun at camp, Petunia. Oh, and I bought you a present." She handed Petunia one of the new cameras and thirty rolls of film. "I figured you'd need this."

"Thanks Lily," Petunia said, and for the first time in four years, she looked up at her sister with something other than disgust. Lily smiled and hugged her again. She waited until her parents and sister had left before going back upstairs.

She tried again to wake Celeste, but found that she still couldn't get the other girl to open her eyes. Worried, Lily went to her school bag. She pulled a mirror out of it. She took her wand and tapped it lightly. "James," she said in a rather loud voice. "James, wake up."

A few moments later, the sleepy-eyed face of James Potter appeared in the mirror. "Lily, have you got any idea what time it is?" he asked irritably.

"Yes I do," Lily said. "I just saw my sister off so she could go to camp. Look, is Remus there?"

"Yeah, and he's awake," James said. "You kind of woke all three of us up."

"Pass the mirror over to him, will you?" James did as he was told. "Remus, you've read all those books on gifts like Celeste's, right?"

"Yes," Remus said with a yawn. "What's wrong?"

"I can't wake Celeste up at all," Lily said. "I've tried. I couldn't wake her up for breakfast, I tried again when I came in after saying good bye to Petunia, and even now she's not reacting even though I've been talking fairly loudly."

"Turn the mirror so I can see her," Remus said, suddenly wide awake and very serious. Lily flipped the mirror over so Remus could see the other girl. She'd turned on a light, and now she saw – as did Remus – just how pale Celeste really was.

"Lily, check her pulse," came Remus' orders from within the mirror. Lily, who'd taken a couple first aid classes a few years earlier, took hold of Celeste's wrist.

"It's very fast but very faint," Lily told him, as the turned the mirror back over to look at him.

"What's her temperature like?" Remus asked.

"She's cold, Remus," Lily said. "Very cold." Lily grabbed the quilt off of her bed and tossed it over her friend. "You think I should call and have her taken to the hospital?"

"Look at her eyes," Remus told her. "Are they moving at all?"

"They're moving all over the place," Lily told him.

"Then don't call the hospital," Remus said. "I doubt that the doctors would be able to understand when she woke up and started babbling about what, to them, would be a very nasty dream."

"Right," Lily said. "So, what do I do?"

"Keep her warm and make sure she doesn't stop breathing," Remus told her. "Call us when she does wake up, will you?"

"Sure thing," Lily said. She tapped the mirror with the wand and it went blank.

Three hours passed before Celeste finally woke up. She sat up straight, tangled in the blankets, her white hair plastered to her sweat-soaked face. "Mon Dieu! Faites-le vous arrêter. S'il vous plaît, cher Dieu, faites-le vous arrêter," Celeste gasped. (My God! Make it stop. Please, dear God, make it stop.)

"Celeste? Celeste, are you all right?" Lily asked hurrying to her side. "Celeste!"

"Lily?" Celeste's eyes focused on the world around her. She began to cry. "Pourquoi moi? Pourquoi dois-je voir ces choses?" she wailed in an anguished voice. (Why me? Why do I have to see these things?)

"Lily?" Mrs. Evans hurried into the room. "I heard something. Is she all right?"

"She's fine, mum," Lily said, letting Celeste cry on her shoulder. "She just had a really bad dream."

"All right. Look, your father has to go into work, and I need to run into town to get some things. Are you girls going to be ok here alone?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"We'll be fine, mum," Lily said. "Although, if you wouldn't mind, could you get us some chocolate? I saw earlier that we were out."

Mrs. Evans smiled. "I can do that," she said. "I'll be dropping your father off at work, and then going to the shops. I most likely won't be back until late this afternoon. I'm also meeting Kristen and Emily for lunch."

"That's fine, mum," Lily assured her. "Have a good time!"

"Well, don't burn down the house while you're studying," Mrs. Evans said. "If your sister calls, get a number and tell her we'll call her back this evening."

"Yes, mum." Mrs. Evans kissed the top of Lily's head before closing the bedroom door and hurrying back down the hall. Lilly helped Celeste sit up against the bed. Her nose had started to bleed, so Lily handed her a handkerchief. Celeste pinched her nose and waited for the blood to stop. Lily grabbed the magic mirror and tapped it with her wand again. "James."

James appeared almost instantly. "Is she awake?" he asked. Lily nodded. Lily heard voices in the background. "Remus wants to know if you can pass the mirror over to her, if she's ok to talk."

"Celeste, do you think you're up to talking to Remus?" Lily asked. Celeste wiped the blood from her face as best as she could and nodded. "All right. Here you go."

Lily handed the mirror to Celeste as James handed his over to Remus. "Celeste! Are you all right?"

"J'ai l'impression que j'ai été piétiné par un hippogriffe et mâché par un Thestral. Autre que cela, je suis parfait," Celeste told him wearily. There was a faint hint of dryness in her voice which made Remus smile a little. (I feel like I've been trampled by a hippogriff and chewed on by a Thestral. Other than that, I'm fine.)

"Do you remember what you saw?" Remus asked her carefully.

"J'ai vu des arbres sombres, les arbres qui se sont étendus au ciel. C'était très froid. J'ai entendu le fait de siffler, comme un serpent, tous autour de moi. Il y avait un sablier. Je l'ai regardé tourner trois fois. J'ai vu un enfant, seul dans l'obscurité. Je crois qu'il avait des cheveux sombres. Je ne sais pas parce que les ténèbres ont continué à le cacher. J'ai essayé d'aller chez lui mais ces figures anonymes ont continué à arriver dans ma voie. Ils m'ont dit que l'on ne lui a pas permis de me parler," Celeste began, her voice trembling slightly. "Ils ont voulu qu'il ait oublié quel il était. La chaque fois que j'ai détournée, il commencerait à crier donc j'essaierais d'aller chez lui de nouveau. Finalement, j'ai vu un serpent. C'était très grand et avait des yeux rouges ardents. Il essayait d'attaquer l'enfant, mais la chaque fois il l'a attaqué, j'ai entendu une pulsation régulière et une voix le promettant il serait sûr. J'étais finalement capable de le faire au garçon et que même voix m'a demandé de s'assurer qu'il était heureux. Alors ces gens anonymes sont revenus et m'ont fait démarrer de lui. Après cela, je ne pouvais pas rentrer. La voix devenait plus triste et plus triste, en me suppliant de l'aider. Alors le serpent m'a rendu et a attaqué. C'est quand je me suis réveillé." (I saw dark trees, trees that stretched to the sky. It was very cold. I heard hissing, like a snake, all around me. There was an hourglass. I watched it turn three times. I saw a child, alone in the darkness. I think he had dark hair. I don't know because the shadows kept hiding him. I tried to go to him but these faceless figures kept getting in my way. They told me he wasn't allowed to speak to me. They wanted him to forget what he was. Every time I turned away, he would start crying so I would try to go to him again. Finally, I saw a snake. It was very big, and had glowing red eyes. It was trying to attack the child, but every time it attacked him, I heard a steady heartbeat and a voice promising him he would be safe. I was finally able to make it to the boy, and that same voice asked me to make sure he was happy. Then those faceless people returned and drove me away from him. After that, I couldn't get back. The voice was getting sadder and sadder, begging me to help him. Then the snake returned and attacked me. That's when I woke up.)

Remus thought hard for a minute. "Write this down," he said finally. "When you get here, I'll help you sort it out. I'll see if I can't find some books on interpreting visions."

"Merci, Remus," Celeste said. "Je le mettrai par écrit immédiatement." (I'll write it down immediately.) She handed the mirror back to Lily and dug out some parchment, a quill and her ink.

"I'm glad you caught all that," Lily said quietly as Celeste started writing. "I only caught every third or fourth word."

"There's a reason I'm having her write it out, Lily," Remus said. "She was talking too fast for me to catch everything."

"Can you hand the mirror back to James?" Lily asked. Remus passed it back. "James, do you think your parents would mind if we came a bit early?"

"They won't have a problem with it," James said. "Why?"

"I think I want to get Celeste to a house where using magic won't get us expelled," Lily said. "I'm pushing it with using the mirror. Besides, if it comes down to taking her to the hospital, I think we'd all rather see her in Saint Mungos, and not a Muggle hospital."

"Right," James agreed. "When do you want to come?"

"I'll talk my parents around into letting us come on Sunday," Lily said.

"Go to the Leaky Cauldron and use their connection to the Floo Network," James said. "I'll have dad set up the connection in our parlor. "

"Ok," Lily said. "I'd better go before I get an owl warning me about using magic."

"See you Sunday, Red," James said. Lily nodded and the mirror once again went blank.

Celeste finished writing out her vision. Lily made her eat, and then Celeste went back to bed. She was still asleep when Lily's parents came home. "Lily, is Celeste still asleep?" her father asked.

"She woke up earlier," Lily said. "But she was still really tired, so she went back to bed." She took a deep breath. "Mum, dad, I talked to James today. I think it'd be best if Celeste and I went over earlier than we'd originally planned."

"Why is that?" Mr. Evans asked.

"Celeste is a very unusual witch," Lily began. "She's got a couple very rare gifts that aren't completely in her control. They aren't dangerous to those around her," she added, hastening to reassure her now worried parents. "But they can be very dangerous to her."

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Celeste is something of a seer," Lily said. "Kind of like those fortune tellers you hear about on the telly. Only she's never been wrong, once the visions she has have been untangled. She sees in imagery and symbols, not actual events. The whole reason she's asleep right now is because she had, well, I suppose it must have been a very frightening vision. I can't be sure, because when she talked about it, she was speaking very rapidly in French. I'm not fluent enough to follow her when she talks a kilometer a minute."

"Why would you want to take her to the Potters' house early, though?" Mr. Evans asked.

"If Celeste has another vision like this, it could land her in the hospital," Lily said. "A Muggle hospital isn't such a good idea. They'd think she was completely nutters. But if she's with a wizarding family, then they'll be able to take her to Saint Mungos. That's the wizarding world's hospital, dad. They're better at dealing with people with gifts like Celeste's." Lily hesitated again. Finally, she sighed. "Also, Saint Mungos isn't likely to tell anyone about Celeste's ability if she doesn't want them to. Other than me and the rest of our friends, you're the only ones who know. I don't even think her twin realizes just how gifted Celeste really is."

"Do your teachers know?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Oh, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore does," Lily said. "That man doesn't miss anything. Professor McGonagall might know. The rest of them most likely don't have a clue."

"When did you want to leave?" Mr. Evans asked.

"Sunday afternoon," Lily replied. "If you can take us to that bookshop in London, we'll make it over to the Leaky Cauldron. They've got a connection to the Floo Network. We'll take the fire to the Potters' mansion."

"I'll take you into London when I get off of work," Mr. Evans said.

"Dad, you haven't had to work on Sunday for ages," Lily said.

Mr. Evans grimaced. "I know," he said. "But with all those new projects, they need every person they can get in the office."

"All right," Lily said. "I'd better go check on Celeste. She's not too keen on waking up alone after one of these visions." Her parents nodded and Lily ran up the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

Mr. Evans dropped Lily and Celeste off outside the Leaky Cauldron on Sunday evening. The girls had a late tea before heading to the Potters. "Now, I'm sure you know how to use Floo Powder, Celeste," Lily began. Celeste nodded. "Ok. We're going to Potter Manor."

"Right," Celeste said. Lily went first. Celeste followed close behind.

When the girls came out of the fireplace, the boys were waiting for them. "We were wondering when you were going to get here," James said, hugging Lily.

"My dad had to go into the office," Lily told him. "We had to wait for him to get home before we could make it into London."

"Are you feeling ok, Celeste?" Remus asked.

"I am not so fond of Floo Powder," she said shakily. "It makes me sick. But I am better today than I was a few days ago."

"You two hungry?" Sirius asked.

"We had a late tea at the Leaky Cauldron," Lily said.

"Well, let's get you downstairs," James said. "Mum's got some tea, if you think you can stand another cup or two."

"I would like some tea," Celeste said. "I like to have a cup after coming out of the Floo Network." The five teens headed downstairs. Celeste was awestruck by just how beautiful James' home was. The floors were warm, honey colored wood and covered with bright patterned rugs. The walls were sheathed in the same honey colored wood. Paintings, tapestries, and other oddities decorated the walls.

Old fashioned gas lights lit the whole house, giving everything a glow of flame. James saw the look on Celeste's face and chuckled. "Never thought it would look something like this, did you?" he asked teasingly.

"It is like nothing I have ever seen," Celeste said. "My parents' house in France is not so beautiful, and Abigail's house is that of a Muggle."

"Well, mum will be pleased," James said. "She loves this old house, and she's always looking for someone to talk to about it. Be careful, or you'll be subjected to endless conversations on the origins of the Potter family manor."

"James! Are the girls here yet?" Mrs. Potter called as she stepped out into the hall. "Oh, hello Lily. How are you?"

"I'm just fine, Mrs. Potter," Lily said.

"Hello, Celeste," Mrs. Potter said, smiling at the other girl. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Celeste said.

"Good," Mrs. Potter said. "I've got a pot of tea waiting. You ladies look like you could use a cup of tea."

"That sounds lovely, Mrs. Potter," Lily said. They followed her back into the kitchen.

The next several days passed by in a blur. Remus helped Celeste decipher her dream, although it still didn't make much sense to either of them at the end. The full moon came and went, with only Remus noticing the addition of a beautiful snowy owl to the throng of animals watching over him. Lily, who had been given a sleeping draught by Celeste, never noticed anything unusual.

Finally, at the beginning of July, the O.W.L. results arrived. Five tawny owls glided into the house during breakfast and settled on the table. "One for each of us," Lily said, collecting her owl. Celeste claimed hers, although her hands were shaking so badly when she went to remove the letter that Remus ended up gently pushing her hands aside and doing it for her.

Celeste broke the seal on her letter and opened it up. "'Ordinary Wizarding Level results for Celeste Jeanne-Marie Elizabeata Winters are as follows: Potions – O; Transfiguration – E; Herbology – E; History of Magic – O; Defense Against the Dark Arts – E; Arithmancy – A; Astronomy – A; Ancient Runes – E; Care of Magical Creatures – O; Charms – E.'" Her eyes widened as she realized that she had passed everything. There were only two tests she hadn't done all that well on, and they were classes she wouldn't mind dropping the following year.

"Well?" Lily asked her. "How did you do?"

"Three 'Outstandings'," Celeste said. "Five 'Exceeds Expectations' and two 'Acceptable' marks."

"I got the same," Lily said. "What did you get your 'Acceptable' marks in?"

"Arithmancy and Astronomy," Celeste said promptly. "You?"

"Astronomy and History of Magic," Lily said, smiling ruefully. "Professor Binns still manages to put me to sleep."

"I got straight E's down the row, except for a 'D' in History of Magic and an 'A' in Astronomy," James said, ducking his head a little as his parents shot him a dirty look.

"Same here," Sirius said. "Only I got an 'E' in Astronomy, no clue how I did that, but I only managed an 'A' in Muggle Studies."

"Moony?" James asked.

"I did all right," Remus began.

Lily stole his results. "Just as I thought," she said, laughing. "He's got a straight line of Outstandings all the way down except for History of Magic, and that's an 'E'."

"Well, we're N.E.W.T. students now," Sirius said. "So, what are you all planning on taking?"

"I will take everything except Arithmancy, History of Magic, and Astronomy," Celeste said. "I am especially looking forward to Potions and Transfiguration."

"Why aren't you taking History of Magic?" Lily asked.

"I will if I must, but I think the only reason I passed my O.W.L. so well was because of how much I have read," Celeste said.

"I'm planning on doing something similar," Remus said. "Except I think I'll drop Care of Magical Creatures as well as Astronomy and History of Magic."

"Well, these next two years are going to be very difficult for you all," Mrs. Potter said. "I hope you can keep up with your course work."

"Celeste, are they going to let you graduate with this lot as well?" Mr. Potter asked suddenly.

"Yes sir, they are," Celeste replied.

"They must have gotten a waiver for you, then," he mused. "I mean, you won't be of age when you leave Hogwarts."

"Yes I will," Celeste said, a little confused. "I turn 16 in December of this year, and I will be 17 when I leave Hogwarts."

"Wait a mo, Celeste," James said. "I thought you were a year younger than us."

Celeste shook her head. "At school in France, we start at twelve. Because we came from France, my sister and I were already a year older than the rest of the first years. But because we did not know any more than they did, we were placed with the first years."

"Your sister's going to be stuck in school until she's 18 then," Sirius commented.

"Only if she chooses to do her final year. If she is of age, they will not make her stay," Celeste said. "So I will not be needing the waiver. I have already spoken to Professor Dumbledore about this."

"Well, at least you'll be able to stick with us throughout everything," Lily said, hugging her.

"Ok, I'm finished here," James said. "Who's up for some Quidditch?"

"James!" Lily protested laughingly.

"I think I will come watch, but I am not a good player," Celeste said.

"Same here," Remus said. "I'll come watch you lot as well."

"I'll play," Sirius said. "How about you, Red?"

"I'll play, but we still need one more player," Lily said.

"Raven promised she'd be by after breakfast," Sirius said. "She can play too, if she's interested."

"Interested in what?" One of the Potters' House Elves had brought a black-haired girl into the room. It was easy to see that Sirius was completely smitten by her.

"Playing Quidditch," James told her. "You and Sirius against me and Lily."

"Sounds like fun," Raven said. "I don't have a broom, though."

"You may use mine," Celeste said. "I brought it with me. It is a Cleansweep. I bought it new last year, so it is not the latest broom on the market, but it is a good one."

"Thanks," Raven said, giving her a warm smile.

"Let's go then," James said. Celeste ran upstairs to get her broom for Raven, and the six teenagers headed out to a large field behind the Potter mansion. The two couples paired off and started chasing each other around the field.

"Celeste," Remus began.

"Yes, Remus?" Celeste's eyes were on the game, but her attention was actually on the quiet young werewolf at her side.

"Does Professor Dumbledore know about your gifts?" Remus was watching her closely.

"Yes," Celeste said. "But I have asked him to not tell the rest of the staff. I know Professor Slughorn suspects that I am more gifted than I show, but he does not know in what way." She turned to face him. "And I wish to keep it this way."

"Why is that?" Remus asked.

Celeste went back to watching the game. "Remus, savez-vous que le Ministère me ferait s'ils savaient que je pourrais faire?" she asked in a very soft voice. (Remus, do you know what the Ministry would do to me if they knew what I could do?) She didn't wait for him to answer. "Ils me transformeraient en esclave. Je ne serais pas capable d'aller n'importe où, ou faire n'importe quoi. Je serais piégé, en utilisant ma capacité de forcer d'autres. Je ne peux pas le faire. Pas même si cela signifie certains d'entre ceux qui font la magie sombre en amateur vont libres. Je ne peux pas juste le faire. Je n'irai pas faire. Si le Ministère apprend de mes cadeaux, je vais être dans le problème sérieux. Je rembobinerai en France avant que je me permets jamais d'être mis sous clé par le Ministre de Magie et de ses gens." (They would turn me into a slave. I wouldn't be able to go anywhere, or to do anything. I'd be trapped, using my ability to hunt others down. I can't do that. Not even if it means some of those that dabble in dark magic go free. I just can't do it. I won't. If the Ministry finds out about my gifts, I'm going to be in serious trouble. I'll run back to France before I ever let myself get locked up by the Minister of Magic and his people.)

"You and I are very much alike, you know," Remus said, turning his attention to the game. "Both of us would be hunted by the Ministry of Magic if they knew about us, and neither of us likes cages."

Celeste found Remus' fingers. She interlaced her fingers with his. "I am not so fond of being alone," she said, her voice just as soft. "I am alone because I must be."

"You're not alone anymore, Whisper," Remus said. "You won't ever be alone again, if I have anything to say about it."

"What is that you called me?" Celeste asked, amused.

"Whisper," Remus said. "You're always so quiet, you never speak up very loudly unless you absolutely have to – and you make no sound when you come to sit with me during the full moon."

"I do not think that it would be all that hard for the others to know who the owl was if they saw me," Celeste said. "My feathers are not white, but pale silver, much like my hair. And I do not have golden eyes but silver ones. Even Peter would know who I was, and he is not so very clever as James and Sirius."

"Heads!" Sirius called as one of the Bludgers flew out of control towards the two on the ground.

Remus pulled Celeste against him, and the two of them narrowly missed getting hit. "Watch it!" Remus called as the Bludger headed back up to the sky.

"Sorry!" James called. "That one got away from us."

"I think I'm ready to go inside now," Celeste said.

"Me too," Remus told her. They went back into the house.

The rest of the summer passed quietly enough. Raven and Sirius spent a great deal of time off on their own. Sirius finally admitted that Raven's family was moving to the United States, and that this was their last summer together. James and Lily began plans for their wedding, which would take place after they left school.

Celeste and Remus often found themselves alone together. They poured over old books that the Potters had, took long walks in the forest that was on the property, and could be found sitting together talking about things that were obscure enough to confuse everyone who wasn't in on the conversation. It was assumed that after graduation, the two of them would also be getting married.

Hovering as a grim spectre over them all was the ongoing war between the wizarding community in general and the self-styled Lord Voldemort. His Death Eaters were stepping up their attacks. The _Daily Prophet_ was full of names of people who had been killed, suspected Death Eaters, and witches and wizards that had gone missing.

One morning, Lily was perusing the _Prophet_ during breakfast. As she flipped to the middle of the paper, she froze. "What is it, dear?" Mrs. Potter asked anxiously.

Her hands shaking, she cleared her throat and began to read. "'The wizarding world was rocked by yet another series of attacks last night. Death Eaters descended on the home of Frank and Alice Longbottom, a recently married couple who graduated from Hogwarts only two months ago. The Longbottoms escaped, though Mrs. Longbottom was seriously injured. Mr. Longbottom, already in Auror training, was able to hold off the three Death Eaters long enough for his colleagues to arrive. Two Death Eaters – Bram Parkinson and Dorian Grigio – were killed during the fight. The third Death Eater – an as yet unnamed and, according to one Auror, unrecognized woman – managed to escape with the help of Rodolpho Lestrange, a long-suspected associate of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Mrs. Longbottom was treated at Saint Mungos and released. Only a few hours later, Rodolpho Lestrange and four other unidentified Death Eaters descended on the Surrey home of a Muggle family.'" Here Lily's voice broke and she began to cry.

James took the paper and continued reading the article. "'Henry and Rose Evans were attacked in their home. An unknown individual in the area alerted the Ministry to the trouble when they saw a flash of green light through the broken door. Aurors Apparated to the scene, but were unable to prevent the murders of Henry and Rose Evans. Their younger daughter Petunia is away at camp. A local family, long time friends of the Evanses, will be taking her in. The location of their older daughter Lily is as yet undetermined. It is believed she is spending the summer with a wizarding family, and is asked to contact the Ministry as soon as possible.'"

No one said anything. Finally, Celeste moved over next to Lily. Lily buried her face in Celeste's shoulder and sobbed harder. Mr. Potter took the paper away from his son and read through the article again. "Lily, I know this is hard, but I think you'd better come into the Ministry with me today," he said gently. "I'll let them know that you are more than welcome to continue staying with us."

"Celeste," James began. "That Squib you were living with is in here too."

"What?" Celeste asked, turning her head slightly to look at him. Horror flooded her features. "They did not – they killed her too?"

James nodded. "It says that they found the Dark Mark above her home, and that from all evidence she'd put up a good fight before they managed to finish her off," he said, skimming through the article.

Lily sat up with an obvious effort and nodded to Mr. Potter. "Let me just wash up and I'll come with you."

Celeste snagged the paper from James and read the part of the article dealing with her former guardian. They'd found Catherine, and she'd informed the _Prophet_ that Celeste was staying with another wizarding family as she had been all summer. Catherine had refrained from stating where her sister was, on the chance that the _Prophet_ tried to find her. "'Celeste is not fond of the spotlight,'" Catherine was quoted as saying. "'Besides, she would most likely hide behind her friends and ask you to leave. She does not like being questioned.'" Celeste didn't know whether to be irritated or amused.

"Celeste?" Remus put a hand on her shoulder.

"I did not like her, but she did not deserve to die," Celeste said.

"Maybe you'd better go in with my dad too. Just so they don't get all panicked and start searching for you," James said.

"I will send them an owl," Celeste said. "My sister knows where I am, and she would have told the Ministry if she thought that there was danger. We do not get along, but she would not cause too much trouble at this time."

"'At this time'?" Sirius asked.

Celeste grimaced. "Catherine feels the same as the Death Eaters, that those with Muggle parents should not be allowed," she said. "She also believes that those of us who have friends that are Muggle-born are blood traitors and should die as well."

"Lovely," Sirius muttered. "Sounds like she's a bloody good candidate for the Death Eaters then."

"She is," Celeste said. "She is, as I am, a pure blood. I do not believe in the fact that pure bloods are the only ones who should be allowed, so to her I am a blood traitor." Celeste shrugged. "I suppose I am such to the Death Eaters as well."

"Glad to have you along for the ride," James said ruefully. "My family isn't exactly well-liked either, especially since it's well known I'm marrying a Muggle born witch."

"There are not so many pure blood witches that you are not closely related to," Celeste said.

"Yeah," James said. "That's the problem."

"Celeste, I'll drop in at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and let them know you're here," Mr. Potter said. "James, do you want to come in with me and Lily?"

"Yeah, I think I'd better," James said. He dashed upstairs to change his clothes.

"I'm going to run home for the day," Sirius said. "I think I'll have a word with Regulus. He's rather fond of Lestrange and my cousins, but he's not fast enough to keep up with them."

"Give me your lists," Mrs. Potter said. "I'll go in with you, dear, and when the children are done at the Ministry, I'll take them to Diagon Alley and we can get all the school supplies."

Everyone scattered to their various errands, leaving Celeste and Remus alone in the house. They spent the morning mending a few things and playing Wizarding Chess. After a light lunch brought to them by the House Elves, they retreated upstairs to Celeste's room to discuss a book the two of them had read.

It only took a few minutes for the book to be cast to the side. The conversation had turned to Lily, James, and the all-too-serious issue of the rise of Lord Voldemort. "There are not enough pure blood witches and wizards to keep us alive," Celeste said.

"I know," Remus said. "But I don't think that's occurred to any of them just yet. If they go on with this, they're going to breed our kind out of existence."

"That would be bad," Celeste said. "What would this world be without magic?"

"It would be a very poor place indeed," Remus commented. Celeste leaned against him. "Especially if it meant that it would be a world without you."

Celeste blushed. "Remus, you told me at the Yule ball that you loved me," she began.

"I meant it," he told her, his voice rich with the love he felt for her. Celeste looked up into his golden eyes. He bent forward and captured her lips in a sweet and gentle kiss. Celeste hesitated briefly, and then wrapped her arms around his neck. Soon clothing was lying on the floor, and the kiss had rapidly become something else.

Remus collapsed beside her. Celeste curled up against him. Her hair had pulled free of its plait and was now clinging to her sweaty body. Remus moved slightly and brushed some of her hair back. "It will be a hopeless tangle now," she said softly.

"I'll help you brush it out," Remus promised. They laid there in complete contentment for a few minutes until Remus reluctantly broke the silence. "We'd better get dressed before the Potters come back."

"Yes," Celeste said. "It wouldn't look very good for us to be found like this." The two of them got dressed. Remus kept his word and helped Celeste brush out her hair. He braided it for her. Two quick charms and there was no sign of their recent activities.

"Sirius will know," Remus said with a rueful smile. "His sense of smell is incredible."

"That is because his other form is that of a dog," Celeste said. Remus looked startled. "Remember, I have watched over you on the full moon this past year."

"I didn't think you knew who was what," Remus said.

"It's not that hard to figure out, Remus," Celeste said. "If you know what to look for."

Remus smiled, but his smile faded as he heard voices. "I think they're back."

The two of them went down. Lily looked very pale, and her eyes weren't very focused. "She's in shock," James whispered. "She got to see her parents, and what was done to her house." He hesitated, and then added, "She also got to see Petunia."

"It's not my fault, is it?" Lily asked, her whole body shaking. "It's not my fault they're dead, is it?"

Celeste took Lily's hand. "Come with me," she said softly. Lily didn't argue. She followed Celeste upstairs. They went to Lily's room and Celeste sat her down on the bed. "Lily, dites-moi, pourquoi croyez-vous que c'est votre faute?" (Lily, tell me, why do you think it's your fault?)

Lily blinked, as Celeste's reversion to her own native language forced her to think. "My sister," she said finally. "She said that it's my fault mum and dad are dead. If I wasn't a witch, they'd never have been killed."

"Et elle le sait comment? Lily, je doute que les Mangeurs Mortels sachent même qui ils tuaient. Pour tout ils savaient, ils étaient juste une autre paire de Muggles," Celeste said. (And she knows this how? Lily, I doubt that the Death Eaters even knew who they were killing. For all they knew, they were just another pair of Muggles.)

"But what if I'd never gone to Hogwarts? Would they still have attacked my family?" Lily asked.

"Probablement. Mais vous et votre soeur seriez fort probablement morts aussi," Celeste told her. (Probably. But you and your sister would most likely have died as well.)

"I'm supposed to stay with the Potters from now on," Lily said quietly. "Petunia is going to stay with the Brandt family."

"Then you are staying here with the one you are to marry," Celeste said. "This is not so bad a thing." She gave her friend a light push. "Why do you not have a rest?"

"I don't think I can sleep," Lily said, but she obediently curled up on the bed.

Celeste headed down. "She will be all right," she told James. "It will take a while, but she will be all right."

"Thanks, Celeste," James said. "How are you doing?"

"I am not so hurt as Lily," Celeste said evasively. "I'll be fine."

"Celeste, your parents contacted the Ministry," Mr. Potter said. Celeste turned white. "Don't worry, dear. I've got it fixed so you and your sister are staying in England. Apparently there were quite a few people in Calais that didn't approve of how your parents treated you. The Ministry in France cleared the two of you to remain with your current host families. Since those families happen to be us and the Blacks, you are quite welcome to stay here. If not, the Ministry here in England will arrange for another wizarding family to take you in."

"If you do not mind my being here, I will stay," Celeste said.

Mrs. Potter smiled sadly. "I think it'll be better for Lily if you stay here," she said.

"Speaking of Lily, do you have anything to help her sleep?" Celeste asked.

"Not really," Mrs. Potter said.

"Celeste, I still have half a dozen vials of the Draught of Living Death," Remus reminded her.

"Will you give one to Lily?" Celeste asked. "She really needs to sleep right now."

"I can do that," Remus said. He vanished into his room and got a vial of the pale lavender liquid. He took it up into Lily's room. A few minutes later, he returned. "She's asleep, and will be for probably around twelve hours or so."

"That'll be good for her," Mrs. Potter said. "Celeste, Remus, we got your books. I hope we have everything. If we missed something, we'll go back in a few days."

Remus and Celeste inspected their parcels. Both had all the books they needed for the classes they wanted to take. Remus also had two new sets of school robes. "Um," he said, at a loss for words.

"James told me that your school robes were looking very worn," Mrs. Potter explained. "He brought a set of dress robes for Mme. Malkin to use as a basis for the size."

Remus shot James a look. James managed a half-hearted smile. "I didn't want you going back to school with robes that were falling apart, Moony," he said. He kept glancing up the stairs. "I think I'll go sit with Lily, if you don't mind, mum."

"Go ahead, dear," Mrs. Potter said understandingly. James dashed back up the stairs.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter retreated to their sitting room to talk about the current events. Sirius cornered Celeste and Remus. "Enjoy your afternoon?" he asked, in a heavily significant voice. Both of them blushed slightly. "Thought so. Just please keep the rest of us in mind if you should decide to continue the physical side of your relationship."

"We're not _that_ insensitive, Padfoot," Remus said. "We're not going to do anything that could upset Lily. Well, at least not intentionally."

"All right," Sirius said. He wandered off. Remus and Celeste went outside to sit in the garden, taking their schoolbooks with them. Remus selected his copy of _Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six_, while Celeste chose _Advanced Potion Making_. The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon and on into early evening reading.

The deaths of Lily's parents shook the small group of friends even harder than they'd anticipated. Peter, after pushing at his mother a bit, appeared at their doorstep with flowers for Lily and Celeste. He too chose to stay with them until the end of the summer holidays. As the time to return to Hogwarts got closer, Lily seemed to perk up a little bit. The idea of going back to school cheered her up. She had changed her desired classes to those that were necessary for becoming an Auror: Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Charms.

Celeste and Remus both set their schedules to match. The two of them decided – at the urging of their friends – to take the exact same classes, so that Celeste would always have someone to protect her. "So you're taking what?" Sirius asked, looking at their pile of books.

"Ancient Runes, Potions, Charms, DADA, Herbology, and Transfiguration," Celeste said promptly. "We are only taking one more class than the rest of you." James and Sirius were also taking the classes to become Aurors. Peter had been required to drop Transfiguration due to the fact that he only had an 'Acceptable' in it, and was instead taking Astronomy.

"I don't mind, really," Peter told Sirius when he asked. "I like Astronomy more than I liked Transfiguration."

A few days before the start of the term, the six teens decided to head out for one final round of Quidditch. Now they played three on three, since Celeste had become a much better flyer over the summer. Lily, James, and Peter were against Sirius, Remus, and Celeste. Peter and Celeste were both fairly poor players, so the teams were evenly matched. As night fell, the friends settled to the ground but didn't return to the house. House Elves brought them their supper, and they watched the stars come out.

Finally, James stood up and dusted off his robes. "Come on," he said. "My parents will most likely be getting worried."

The others stood up and they headed towards the house. Suddenly, Celeste froze. "Wait," she whispered, her eyes wide and scared. "There is something wrong."

"What is it?" Remus asked.

"There are people in the house that should not be here," she said. "Unless your parents were expecting company, that is."

"No," James said with a frown. "Mum and dad always tell me when they're going to have company." Suddenly, the whole group heard an agonized scream. "That's my mother."

"Death Eaters," Sirius snarled.

"The Cruciatus curse," Lily gasped.

"Wands out, let's go," James snapped.

"Someone needs to go for help," Peter said in a fearful voice.

"You go," James ordered. "Get the Ministry here as quick as you can." He looked over at Celeste. "Celeste, maybe you should go with Peter."

"No," she said, drawing her own wand. "He flies faster than I do. If he had to fly at my speed, we would not get back in time."

"All right then," James said. Peter hopped on his broom and sped off into the night. The others made their way towards the house.

Mrs. Potter's screams went on and on, but were now accompanied by the hoarse shouting of her husband. As they got close enough for everyone to hear what was going on, they heard Mr. Potter say, "What do you want?"

"We want the Mudblood and the blood traitors you're sheltering," came a sneering voice. "Give them up and you can live out what's left of your life."

Apparently whoever was casting the Cruciatus Curse stopped, because Mrs. Potter gasped out, "We'll never let you have the children."

"Ready?" James whispered. The others nodded. "Now!"

The teens burst into the house, and all five voices cried in unison, "Stupefy!" Stunning spells flew from their wand tips. Three Death Eaters went down, but two others dodged.

"Ennervate," one of them shrieked, reviving one of the fallen Death Eaters.

"Petrificus Totalus," Remus yelled, diving to one side. The newly revived Death Eater collapsed, rigid as a board.

A Death Eater slashed their wand in Celeste's direction. Hot, searing pain cut across her face and she screamed. "Stupefy," she managed to gasp out, and her attacker hit the ground.

"Silencio!" Lily silenced two of the Death Eaters, but this didn't help much. One of them waved his wand and another one of the stunned Death Eaters got up.

"This isn't working," Sirius called from his position behind the now overturned dining room table.

"All at once," James growled.

Again, all five wands pointed at the Death Eaters. This time, they all shouted, "Expelliarmus!" This time all the Death Eaters lost their wands. "Stupefy!" Those that were still standing fell to the ground.

"Celeste, are you all right?" Remus was at her side instantly.

"No," she said. "I am not all right."

"She's bleeding pretty badly," Lily said, joining them. "I don't know anything to stop the blood. Diffindo." Lily cut a portion of her robes off and tried using them as a bandage to stop the bleeding.

"Incarcerous." Sirius was busily tying up the Death Eaters. They didn't want to run any risk that they could get loose.

"Mum, dad, are you all right?" James was at his parents' sides, helping his father get his mother to her feet.

"James, look out!" A sixth Death Eater emerged from the shadows.

"Avada Kedavra," he snarled, pointing his wand at James. Mr. Potter pushed his wife and son out of the way just as the bolt of green light struck him. He fell to the ground.

"Stupefy!" Sirius stunned the remaining Death Eater and bound him too.

But the damage was already done. James and his mother knelt beside his father's body. "Damn," Remus said, noticing just how pale Celeste was. "Lily, we're losing her."

"Where the hell is Peter?" Sirius said, half in panic.

"Here I am," Peter said, bursting into the room. He was being followed by several Aurors.

"What's going on?" Rufus Scrimgeour, one of the top Aurors in the department, demanded.

"Death Eaters attacked us," Sirius said. "What does it bloody look like? Mr. Potter was killed with the Avada Kedavra curse, and Celeste is over there bleeding to death." At this point, Celeste's tenuous grip on consciousness failed and she slipped into blessed darkness.

Two days later, Celeste was awakened by a rather loud discussion going on in her room. "We are her parents. You cannot say we cannot see her," a heavily accented male voice was saying.

"She doesn't want you anywhere near her." Remus was obviously staunchly defending her. "So bugger off, why don't you?"

"Now, dear, I'm sure that your friend wouldn't want her parents to worry," a new voice was saying soothingly.

"Mes parents peuvent aller au diable, pour tout ce que je me soucie. Je ne veux pas les voir," Celeste said, her voice weak but firm.

"What did she say?" the mediwitch asked, noticing the looks of fury on the faces of M. and Mme. Hivers.

"'My parents can go to hell, for all I care. I don't want to see them,'" Remus translated helpfully.

"Oh," the mediwitch said, a little surprised at Celeste's response. "Then we must honor her wishes. Sir, madam, you will have to leave."

The Hivers muttered something rude under their breath, but they left. Remus came and sat down beside her. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I hurt," Celeste said simply. "But I will live. How long have I been unconscious?"

"Two days," Remus said. Anticipating her next question, he added, "And the school term starts in two days."

"Will I be able to leave in time to go?" Celeste asked.

"Yes, dear," the mediwitch said, coming into the room. "We'll be releasing you in the morning." She bustled around and poured a measured dose of a potion into a small glass.

"I would really like to be awake now," Celeste said, recognizing one of the many sleep potions that Mme. Pomfrey gave her on a regular basis.

"Very well," the mediwitch said. She set the little glass down on a bedside table. "When you're ready to sleep again, go ahead and take that. If the pain gets too much, call me."

"Thank you," Celeste said. The mediwitch left the room. "How are James and Lily?" Celeste asked.

"James is spending a lot of time with his mother," Remus told her. "She suffered a heart attack after what happened to her husband. Lily pretty much stays with him. Peter and Sirius are alternating between here and the Potters house. They're moving as many of the things as possible into a flat. Mrs. Potter doesn't think she can go back to the house."

"I do not blame her," Celeste said. She looked over at Remus. "And you? How are you?"

"Very worried about you," Remus said. "But happy now that you're awake." The two of them talked until the pain got too bad. Instead of calling the mediwitch, she took the sleeping potion. Remus remained at her side as she drifted off to sleep.

The next two years at Hogwarts flew by, marred only by the death of James' mother only a few months after the start of their sixth year. The friends graduated, and plans for James and Lily's wedding swung into full gear. Celeste, much to her surprise, was asked to stand as one of Lily's bridesmaids.

"Why so surprised?" Lily asked. "Remus, Sirius, and Peter are James' attendants. Raven is coming back from America so she can be one of my bridesmaids." She sighed. "And I gave in and let Peter's girlfriend Martha be my third bridesmaid."

"Is she not that short and plump brown-haired girl?" Celeste asked curiously.

Lily nodded. "I wouldn't have thought to let her be one, but since you and Raven are attached to Remus and Sirius, I just couldn't refuse Peter when he asked," she said.

"I am sure it will turn out all right," Celeste said. "Have you heard from your sister?"

Lily nodded. "I sent her invitation via Muggle post," she said. "Petunia's pretty much washed her hands of me. She says that she doesn't want me at her wedding, which is next summer, so I shouldn't expect her to attend mine."

"Do you know who she will be marrying?" Celeste asked.

"Vernon Dursley, a true and complete Muggle," Lily said wryly. "They're perfect for each other. Neither of them wants to admit that magic exists, although Vernon does know what I am. I met him over our last Christmas holiday, when I went home briefly to get the rest of my things." She shook her head. "At least they'll be happy in their mediocrity." Lily gave her friend a shrewd look. "What about you? When are you and Remus going to get married?"

"We have talked, and we will think more after you are married," Celeste said evasively. No one, except for Remus, Sirius, Raven, and herself, knew the actual truth. The four of them had gone off while James and Lily were busy one day and gotten married in secret. There were some rather shocked looks when she and Remus began living together, but their excuse had been that Remus needed a keeper and Celeste needed a protector. They claimed it was more in the nature of necessity than anything else.

"Celeste, I know that you guys have been spending a lot of time together," Lily began. "I also know that you've gotten yourself a little cottage out in the countryside that you share." She raised her hand. "I also know the reason you're giving everyone else, but you don't really think that James and I buy that, do you?"

"We are living together because we need each other," Celeste insisted.

"Yes, and you lot sneaked off and got married without telling anyone," Lily said bluntly. Celeste looked startled. "Come off it, Celeste. James has known Sirius and Remus for a long time now. And I've been around you enough to know when you're hiding something as well."

"Remus and I, we knew our wedding would be looked on as something terrible," Celeste said in a small voice. "Though not everyone knows what he is, those that do might somehow say something to make things bad for us. So we felt it would be better if we just went and did it without fuss, and made it look like our life was only to keep each other out of trouble."


End file.
